Abstract
General Background – Health tourism is a rapidly expanding industry driven by innovation and digital transformation, offering high-quality and cost-effective healthcare solutions globally. Specific Background – Despite its growth, there is limited research on the integration of digital technologies such as telemedicine, artificial intelligence, and blockchain in enhancing patient experience and operational efficiency. Knowledge Gap – Previous studies have primarily focused on infrastructure, patient motivation, and service quality, leaving a gap in understanding the role of digital transformation in health tourism. Aims – This study aims to analyze trends in health tourism innovation, mapping technological advancements, policy adaptations, and business model transformations using bibliometric analysis. Results – Findings indicate that digital health solutions, particularly telemedicine and Electronic Health Records (EHR), significantly enhance accessibility and service quality. Future research should focus on data-driven technologies and sustainable business models. Novelty – This study contributes by systematically mapping digital innovations in health tourism through bibliometric analysis, offering a comprehensive perspective on the industry's evolution. Implications – The findings provide strategic insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of standardized business process modeling to enhance service efficiency and competitiveness in global health tourism markets.
Highlights:
-
Digital Transformation in Health Tourism – The integration of telemedicine, AI, and blockchain enhances patient experience, accessibility, and service efficiency.
-
Bridging the Knowledge Gap – This study fills a research gap by systematically mapping digital innovations in health tourism through bibliometric analysis.
-
Strategic Implications – Findings provide actionable insights for policymakers and industry leaders to standardize business processes and improve global competitiveness.
Keywords: Health Tourism, Development, Innovation
References
[1] B. Singh, C. Kaunert, B. A. Riswandi, M. K. Arora, and S. Lal, “Medical Tourism and Health Gateways in International Health Market Places,” in Intersections of Law and Computational Intelligence in Health Governance, IGI Global, 2024, pp. 174–196. doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-5976-1.ch009.
[2] M. Nenad and E. Pessot, “Innovation Practices and Techniques for Nature-Based Health Tourism Competitiveness,” in SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, Springer International Publishing Cham, 2023, pp. 99–116. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-15457-7_7.
[3] B. K. M. Wong and S. A. Sa’aid Hazley, “The future of health tourism in the industrial revolution 4.0 era,” J. Tour. Futur., vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 267–272, 2020, doi: 10.1108/JTF-01-2020-0006.
[4] M. Singh and K. Subbaraman, “Growth of the medical tourism industry and its impact on society: Emerging research and opportunities,” Growth Med. Tour. Ind. Its Impact Soc. Emerg. Res. Oppor., pp. 1–189, 2020, doi: 10.4018/978-1-7998-3427-4.
[5] E. Faroldi, V. Fabi, M. P. Vettori, M. Gola, A. Brambilla, and S. Capolongo, “Health tourism and thermal heritage: Assessing Italian spas with innovative multidisciplinary tools,” Tour. Anal., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 405–419, 2019, doi: 10.3727/108354219X15511865533121.
[6] İ. Pırnar and H. O. Altın, “Systematic Literature Review of Health Tourism Innovation,” PASOS Rev. Tur. y Patrim. Cult., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 383–398, 2024, doi: 10.25145/j.pasos.2024.22.026.
[7] A. N. Dunets, V. V. Yankovskaya, A. B. Plisova, M. V. Mikhailova, I. B. Vakhrushev, and R. A. Aleshko, “Health tourism in low mountains: A case study,” Entrep. Sustain. Issues, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 2213–2227, 2020, doi: 10.9770/jesi.2020.7.3(50).
[8] E. Sieako-Awierianów, “DEVELOPMENT of HEALTH TOURISM in WEST POMERANIAN VOIVODESHIP,” Cent. Eur. J. Sport Sci. Med., vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 47–58, 2020, doi: 10.18276/cej.2020.2-05.
[9] E. Pessot, D. Spoladore, A. Zangiacomi, and M. Sacco, “Natural resources in health tourism: A systematic literature review,” Sustain., vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 1–17, 2021, doi: 10.3390/su13052661.
[10] K. R. Lee, “Perspectives on Policies to Promote Convergence in Innovation,” in The Routledge Companion to Innovation Management, Routledge, 2019, pp. 297–306. doi: 10.4324/9781315276670-15.
[11] N. Johnson, “Freedom, fun, and fundamentals: Denning digital progress in a democratic society,” in Invisible Crises: What Conglomerate Control of Media Means for America and the World, Routledge, 2018, pp. 82–90. doi: 10.4324/9780429499647.
[12] H. Pérez-Moure, J. F. Lampón, M. E. Velando-Rodriguez, and L. Rodríguez-Comesaña, “Revolutionizing the road: How sustainable, autonomous, and connected vehicles are changing digital mobility business models,” Eur. Res. Manag. Bus. Econ., vol. 29, no. 3, p. 100230, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.iedeen.2023.100230.
[13] F. Al Sayoud and S. Ayad, “A decision making Framework for the Selection of Business Process Modeling Languages,” in 2024 Seventh International Women in Data Science Conference at Prince Sultan University (WiDS PSU), IEEE, 2024, pp. 147–153.
[14] A. Alman, F. M. Maggi, M. Montali, F. Patrizi, and A. Rivkin, “A framework for modeling, executing, and monitoring hybrid multi-process specifications with bounded global–local memory,” Inf. Syst., vol. 119, p. 102271, 2023.
[15] I. Davies, P. Green, M. Rosemann, M. Indulska, and S. Gallo, “How do practitioners use conceptual modeling in practice?,” Data Knowl. Eng., vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 358–380, 2006.
[16] M. Dumas, W. M. Van der Aalst, and A. H. Ter Hofstede, Process-aware information systems: bridging people and software through process technology. John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
[17] M. Indulska, J. Recker, M. Rosemann, and P. Green, “Advanced Information Systems Engineering: 21st International Conference, CAiSE 2009, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 8-12, 2009. Proceedings,” pp. 501–514, 2009, [Online]. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02144-2_39
[18] Eric Opoku, Maureen Okafor, Mosopefoluwa Williams, and Aramide Aribigbola, “Enhancing small and medium-sized businesses through digitalization,” World J. Adv. Res. Rev., vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 222–239, 2024, doi: 10.30574/wjarr.2024.23.2.2313.
[19] A. B. More, “Implementing Digital Age Experience Marketing to Make Customer Relations More Sustainable,” in New Horizons for Industry 4.0 in modern business, Springer, 2023, pp. 99–119. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-20443-2_5.
[20] E. Albats, D. Podmetina, and W. Vanhaverbeke, “Open innovation in SMEs: A process view towards business model innovation,” J. Small Bus. Manag., vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 2519–2560, 2023, doi: 10.1080/00472778.2021.1913595.
[21] V. Baláž, T. Jeck, and M. Balog, “Firm performance over innovation cycle: evidence from a small European economy,” J. Innov. Entrep., vol. 12, no. 1, p. 40, 2023, doi: 10.1186/s13731-023-00298-9.
[22] S. Shalini and T. Devi, “Digital Transformation,” in Industry 4.0 Technologies for Education, Auerbach Publications, 2022, pp. 67–79.
[23] C. L. Goi, “Digital Transformation: A Catalyst for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Malaysia,” in Perspectives on the Transition Toward Green and Climate Neutral Economies in Asia, IGI Global, 2023, pp. 18–29.
[24] A. Sehgal, “Introduction to Digital Transformation,” in Demystifying Digital Transformation: Non-Technical Toolsets for Business Professionals Thriving in the Digital Age, Springer, 2023, pp. 1–37.
[25] G. N. S. Yadav and R. Seranmadevi, “The Digital Transformation: Crafting Customer Engagement Strategies for Success,” in Digital Technologies, Ethics, and Decentralization in the Digital Era, IGI Global, 2024, pp. 80–98.
[26] A. Petrillo, F. De Felice, M. V. Achim, and N. Mirza, Digital transformation: Towards new frontiers and business opportunities. BoD–Books on Demand, 2022.
[27] B. K. Nouhaila, M. Aarabe, and L. Alla, “The Impact of Digitalisation on the Customer Experience in Medical Tourism,” Impact AI tech-driven Solut. Hosp. Tour., pp. 408–428, 2024, doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-6755-1.ch020.
[28] K. K. Kundury, S. P. Shetty, and G. B. Kuldeep, “A Bird’s-Eye-View on Technological Advancements in Medical Tourism,” in Medical Tourism in Developing Countries, Springer, 2024, pp. 175–198. doi: 10.1007/978-981-99-8909-6_12.
[29] Atta-ur-Rahman et al., “A Comprehensive Study of Mobile Computing in Telemedicine,” in Communications in Computer and Information Science, Springer, 2019, pp. 413–425. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-3143-5_34.
[30] W. Suryani, F. Tobing, A. Rafiki, and N. Fauzan, “Opportunities and challenges of digital tourism in the new normal,” Handb. Res. Artif. Intell. Knowl. Manag. Asia’s Digit. Econ., pp. 233–244, 2022, doi: 10.4018/978-1-6684-5849-5.ch014.
[31] J. R. Amalia and I. M. Hanika, “Tourism in digital era: The influence of digital marketing on the intention to visit museum,” J. Komun. Malaysian J. Commun., vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 274–287, 2021, doi: 10.17576/JKMJC-2021-3703-16.
[32] M. M. Purwaningwulan and T. D. Ramdan, “Digital Promotion of Local Tourist Destinations in the New Normal Era and Its Effect on the Economy in Indonesia,” J. East. Eur. Cent. Asian Res., vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 29–40, 2022, doi: 10.15549/jeecar.v9i2.873.
[33] Supriadi, B. Al Aufa, A. Nurfikri, and I. I. Koire, “Exploring the Potential of a Multi-Level Approach to Advance the Development of the Medical Tourism Industry in Indonesia,” Heal. Serv. Insights, vol. 17, p. 11786329241245232, 2024, doi: 10.1177/11786329241245231.
[34] Y. Mahendradhata, “Proceed with caution: Potential challenges and risks of developing healthcare tourism in Indonesia,” Glob. Public Health, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 340–350, 2019, doi: 10.1080/17441692.2018.1504224.
[35] D. Ayuningtyas, A. Fachry, N. N. D. Sutrisnawati, and S. Munawaroh, “Medical tourism as the improvement of public health service: A case study in Bali and West Nusa Tenggara,” Enferm. Clin., vol. 30, pp. 127–129, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.enfcli.2020.06.029.
[36] N. A. Md Zain, M. H. Hanafiah, M. A. Asyraff, H. Ismail, and W. M. A. Wan Mohd Zain, “Exploring Medical Tourism Competitiveness in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore: the Indonesian Tourists’ Perspectives,” Plan. Malaysia, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 313–328, 2023, doi: 10.21837/PM.V21I30.1403.
[37] Z. Dobrovic, “The Role of Business Processes in Digital Transformation of the Organization,” in 2021 44th International Convention on Information, Communication and Electronic Technology, MIPRO 2021 - Proceedings, IEEE, 2021, pp. 1329–1334. doi: 10.23919/MIPRO52101.2021.9596754.
[38] A. M. Stjepić, L. Ivančić, and D. S. Vugec, “Mastering digital transformation through business process management: Investigating alignments, goals, orchestration, and roles,” J. Entrep. Manag. Innov., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 41–73, 2020, doi: 10.7341/20201612.
[39] T. Bauer, “Modelling of Advanced Dependencies Between the Start and the End of Activities in Business Processes,” in International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, ICEIS - Proceedings, 2023, pp. 457–465. doi: 10.5220/0011705500003467.
[40] P. Grover, K. Seth, S. Mishra, S. Rai, and A. Purohit, “A comprehensive analysis of the influence of information technology on organizational management characteristics,” Multidiscip. Rev., vol. 6, 2023, doi: 10.31893/MULTIREV.2023SS087.
[41] R. Nagar, Y. Singh, R. Gobinath, and G. Manoharan, “Aspects of medical tourism in India: A review,” in AIP Conference Proceedings, AIP Publishing, 2022. doi: 10.1063/5.0093282.
[42] S. Barad, K. Bhadiyadra, S. Sharma, and B. Chaudhary, “Regulatory Policies and Medical Ethics of Medical Tourism in Developing Countries,” in Medical Tourism in Developing Countries, Springer, 2024, pp. 215–228. doi: 10.1007/978-981-99-8909-6_14.
[43] H. Ulusoy and N. Tosun, “Comparisons of Health Tourism Within the EU Countries,” in Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, Springer, 2020, pp. 385–392. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-36126-6_42.
[44] E. Gkinton, G. Telonis, C. Halkiopoulos, and B. Boutsinas, “Quality of Life and Health Tourism: A Conceptual Roadmap of Enhancing Cognition and Well-Being,” in Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, Springer, 2023, pp. 651–666. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-26829-8_41.
[45] N. A. Saveleva, T. A. Yudina, E. E. Sinyavskaya, V. A. Yanyushkin, and V. V. Rokotyanskaya, “Medical tourism association as an instrument of managing health industry competitivity,” Syst. Rev. Pharm., vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 252–258, 2020, doi: 10.31838/srp.2020.5.38.
[46] S. Paul and S. K. Kulshreshtha, Global Developments in Healthcare and Medical Tourism. IGI Global, 2019. doi: 10.4018/978-1-5225-9787-2.
[47] Y. Sharma, S. Alam, and M. Shant Priya, “Medical Tourism: A review in Indian Prospects,” AI, Blockchain, Metaverse Hosp. Tour. Ind. 4.0 Case Stud. Anal., pp. 178–189, 2024, doi: 10.1201/9781032706474-12.
[48] D. Viasus and J. Carratalà, “Health Tourism and Infectious Diseases,” in Emerging and Re-emerging Infections in Travellers, Springer, 2024, pp. 69–78. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-49475-8_5.
[49] I. Turski, H. Mashika, T. Tkachenko, M. Khmara, I. Komarnitskyi, and M. Oliinyk, “Medical tourism: Analysis of the state of international tourism and prospects for domestic development,” Univers. J. Public Heal., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 27–34, 2021, doi: 10.13189/UJPH.2021.090201.
[50] R. Agustina et al., “Universal health coverage in Indonesia: concept, progress, and challenges,” Lancet, vol. 393, no. 10166, pp. 75–102, 2019, doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31647-7.
[51] W. Setyaningsih, W. Nuryanti, B. Prayitno, and A. Sarwadi, “Urban Heritage Towards Creative-based Tourism in the Urban Settlement of Kauman - Surakarta,” Procedia - Soc. Behav. Sci., vol. 227, pp. 642–649, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.06.127.
[52] D. Moher et al., “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement,” Rev. Esp. Nutr. Humana y Diet., vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 172–181, 2014, doi: 10.14306/renhyd.18.3.114.
[53] C. Işık, E. Aydın, T. Dogru, A. Rehman, E. Sirakaya-Turk, and D. Karagöz, “Innovation Research in Tourism and Hospitality Field: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis,” Sustain., vol. 14, no. 13, 2022, doi: 10.3390/su14137889.
[54] A. Kemeç and A. T. Altınay, “Sustainable Energy Research Trend: A Bibliometric Analysis Using VOSviewer, RStudio Bibliometrix, and CiteSpace Software Tools,” Sustainability (Switzerland), vol. 15, no. 4. 2023. doi: 10.3390/su15043618.
[55] A. P. Lopes and N. Rodríguez-López, “Application of a Decision-Making Tool for Ranking Wellness Tourism Destinations,” Sustainability (Switzerland), vol. 14, no. 23. 2022. doi: 10.3390/su142315498.
[56] K. Mokhtari and M. Mohammadzadeh, “Medical Tourism Opportunities: Iran as a Destination Country for Azerbaijani Medical Tourists,” Mohammad Mohammadzadeh J. WORLD SOCIOPOLITICAL Stud., vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 789–837, 2019.
[57] M. Sarker, N. Kasem, B. K. M. Wong, and S. Moghavvemi, “Conceptualizing Essential Components Affecting Health Tourism Satisfaction in Asia: Does Context Matter?,” J. Qual. Assur. Hosp. Tour., vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 1107–1135, 2022, doi: 10.1080/1528008X.2021.1955237.
[58] A. S. Kazemha and K. S. Dehkordi, “The Principles of Designing Hospital Hotel with the Approach of Health Tourism in Kish Island,” J. Hist. Cult. Art Res., vol. 6, no. 1, p. 515, 2017, doi: 10.7596/taksad.v6i1.758.
[59] L. Zhong, B. Deng, A. M. Morrison, J. A. Coca-Stefaniak, and L. Yang, “Medical, health and wellness tourism research—a review of the literature (1970–2020) and research agenda,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, vol. 18, no. 20, p. 10875, 2021, doi: 10.3390/ijerph182010875.
[60] E. Panfiluk and E. Szymańska, “The measurement of the innovativeness of health tourism services using an adequacy matrix title of the article,” Entrep. Sustain. Issues, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 400–420, 2017, doi: 10.9770/jesi.2017.4.4(1).
[61] M. R. T. Yazdi and H. Barazandeh, “Identifying and ranking health tourism development barriers in Iran using fuzzy VIKOR method,” Asian Soc. Sci., vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 54–63, 2016, doi: 10.5539/ass.v12n5p54.
[62] C. Chantrapornchai and C. Choksuchat, “Ontology construction and application in practice case study of health tourism in Thailand,” Springerplus, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–31, 2016, doi: 10.1186/s40064-016-3747-3.
[63] M. Top and C. Sungur, “Opinions and evaluations of stakeholders in the implementation of the public-private partnership (PPP) model in integrated health campuses (city hospitals) in Turkey,” Int. J. Health Plann. Manage., vol. 34, no. 1, pp. e241–e263, 2019, doi: 10.1002/hpm.2644.
[64] G. Tsekouropoulos, A. Vasileiou, G. Hoxha, A. Dimitriadis, and I. Zervas, “Sustainable Approaches to Medical Tourism: Strategies for Central Macedonia/Greece,” Sustain., vol. 16, no. 1, p. 121, 2024, doi: 10.3390/su16010121.
[65] N. Malhotra and K. Dave, “Dimensions and drivers of medical tourism industry: a systematic review of qualitative evidence,” Int. J. Bus. Glob., vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 60–82, 2024, doi: 10.1504/IJBG.2024.135998.
[66] A. K. Mourya, Shafqat-Ul-Ahsaan, and S. M. Idrees, “Cloud Computing-Based Approach for Accessing Electronic Health Record for Healthcare Sector,” in Microservices in Big Data Analytics, Springer, 2020, pp. 179–188. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-0128-9_16.
[67] P. Bandokar and M. Verma, “Effect of public health research on policy and practice,” in Principles and Application of Evidence-based Public Health Practice, Elsevier, 2023, pp. 85–100. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-95356-6.00003-3.
[68] A. H. M. Salimullah and M. Roy, “Application of Technology for Tourism Products and Services in Bangladesh,” Technol. Appl. Tour. Hosp. Ind. Bangladesh, pp. 37–62, 2021, doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-2434-6_3.
[69] B. Richards, “Health Care, Technology and Innovation: What’s Law Got to Do with It?,” J. Law Med., vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 561–569, 2020.
[70] T. M. Molina, C. F. Morales, A. G. G. Mujíca, G. B. B. Vásquez, and A. C. Quesada, “Strategies in Medical and Wellness Tourism for Economic Development in Ecuador and Cuba Post COVID,” in Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol. 345, Springer, 2023, pp. 69–79. doi: 10.1007/978-981-99-0337-5_6.
[71] H. Alipour, H. Rezapouraghdam, and B. Esmaeili, “Public health and tourism; a personalist approach to community well-being: A narrative review,” Iran. J. Public Health, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 447–453, 2020, doi: 10.18502/ijph.v49i3.3127.
[72] E. Turkina, P. Cohendet, and N. Sultana, “Innovation environment for sustainable medical tourism in a country,” in Handbook of Research on Sustainable Tourism and Hotel Operations in Global Hypercompetition, IGI Global, 2022, pp. 137–162. doi: 10.4018/978-1-6684-4645-4.ch007.
[73] P. I. Ananchenkova, “The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on medical tourism development,” Probl. sotsial’noi Gig. Zdr. i Istor. meditsiny, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 203–205, 2021, doi: 10.32687/0869-866X-2021-29-2-203-205.
[74] M. Uygun, “An evaluation of Turkey’s health tourism policies using a social network analysis approach,” Int. J. Health Plann. Manage., vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 804–823, 2022, doi: 10.1002/hpm.3362.
[75] G. Aytaş, F. D. Ergen, and E. Aytekin, “Wellness tourism after the pandemic,” in Future Tourism Trends Volume 1: Tourism in the Changing World, Emerald Publishing Limited, 2024, pp. 285–298. doi: 10.1108/978-1-83753-244-520241019.
[76] C. K. Meng, S. K. Piaralal, M. A. Islam, M. F. Bin Yusof, and R. S. Chowdhury, “International medical Tourists’ expectations and behavioral intention towards health resorts in Malaysia,” Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 9, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19721.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Erwin Erwin, Irving Vitra Paputungan