Reinforcing return intentions — how interplay medical and non-medical professional residents’ emotional solidarity with international traveler experiences?

Purpose Based on social exchange theory (SET), this study seeks to develop a conceptual model incorporating emotional solidarity as an antecedent to medical travelers’ experiences and intentions to return. In addition, this study examines the moderating effect of traveler delight between traveler experience and return intention. Design/methodology/approach Following a stratified random sampling approach, data was gathered from 1,030 international medical travelers who interacted with two categories of Hurghada residents (i.e. 474 medical professionals and 556 non-medical medical professionals). The proposed model was tested using SmartPLS version 4.4. Findings Age groups positively affected feelings welcomed in favor of the medical professional resident sample. Monthly income also negatively affected sympathetic understanding in favor of the non-medical professional resident sample. Moreover, medical travel experience partially mediates the effect of emotional solidarity patterns on return intention. Practical implications Medical tourism stakeholders can conduct workshops on cultural sensitivity and empathy development customized. Further, service providers can enhance medical traveler experiences by integrating local cultural elements into medical services. Originality/value In medical tourism ream, the focal role of medical travelers’ emotional solidarity with residents in shaping their experiences and behaviors has not been studied. Using the SET theoretical lens, our novel contribution examines the sense of emotional exchange between medical travelers and residents to enhance their overall experiences and future behaviors.