Hälsoturism i Sverige : En kvantitativ undersökning om svenskars syn på hälsoturism

Sammanfattning: At the present moment, a larger proportion of the world’s population resides in urban areas where there are both good and bad environments for health and well-being. A challenge in the rapid urbanization is the health and well-being of citizens, which has affected the trend of health tourism among tourists who want to improve and maintain their well-being. Research about health tourism in the Nordic region has mostly involved Finland and Norway, but there is missing research of health tourism in Sweden. Because of this, the purpose of the study was to investigate whether the concept of health tourism is established among Swedes and what affects their choice to travel to a specific destination that offers activities for health. In order to gain a distribution of respondents in Sweden, the quantitative method was considered most applicable in form of a web survey that was sent to Swedes on the basis of a convenience selection. The chosen theories Travel Career Patterns along with the Push and Pull contributed to an understanding of individuals’ behavior and motives behind the travel. Additionally, a literature review of previous research has been conducted on the concepts of health tourism, quality of life, physical activity, competitiveness as these were considered to be influential in individuals’ decision about travel. Based on the survey results, it was found that the majority of respondents know what health tourism is, and they believe that Sweden has resources to develop this kind of tourism. However, the results also shows that a part of Swedes does not know what is included in health tourism. Although most respondents believe that health tourism can be developed in Sweden, they still consider that foreign health facilities offer cheaper treatments and that warmer weather is the main reason for travelling abroad.