Destination image as a mediator between hospital perceived value and revisit intention in medical tourism

This study aims to examine the relationships between perceived hospital value, destination image, and revisit intention from the perspective of medical tourists. While the effects of perceived value and service quality on revisit intention have been investigated in the literature, the mediating role of destination image has not been systematically addressed, particularly in the Turkish context. Therefore, this research aims to fill an important theoretical gap. Data were collected from 306 international medical tourists who received treatment at institutions offering medical tourism services in Istanbul, Kocaeli, and Antalya between July 2024 and January 2025. The findings show positive and significant relationships between perceived hospital value and medical tourism destination image (r = 0.449; p < 0.001), perceived hospital value and revisit intention (r = 0.569; p < 0.001), and destination image and revisit intention (r = 0.422; p < 0.001). Furthermore, bootstrap mediation analysis results revealed that destination image played a partial mediating role in the relationship between perceived hospital value and revisit intention (β = 0.037; p < 0.05). The study's findings offer groundbreaking empirical data validating the mediating function of destination image within the Turkish setting, therefore contributing uniquely to the existing literature. From a practical standpoint, it underscores that hospitals ought to enhance perceived value via care quality, communication, hospitality, and accreditation, whereas destination managers should bolster destination image through branding, safety assurances, and health-tourism integration. These techniques could make medical tourism more competitive, get more people to come back, and have long-term economic advantages.