Evaluating the Suitability of Health Tourism Development from the Perspective of “Therapeutic Landscapes”: A Case Study of Hainan Island

This study explores a methodology for evaluating the component elements of health tourism destinations from the perspective of “therapeutic landscapes”. An index system for evaluating suitable areas of health tourism was established, and an empirical analysis was conducted using Hainan Island as a case study. The findings revealed that the primary constituent elements of health tourism area are natural and cultural environments, health tourism resources, and health facilities. The evaluation indicators for developmental suitability include a healthy environment, health tourism resources, health facilities, and developmental conditions, with weights of 0.53, 0.27, 0.13, and 0.07, respectively. The evaluated areas were categorized into four zones, high suitability zone (24.47%), moderate suitability zone (43.99%), marginal suitability zone (23.24%), and unsuitable zone (8.3%), which can provide spatial references for optimizing the layout of health tourism products. This study advances the perspectives and content in health geography and health tourism studies, and it offers insights to support the sustainable development of health tourism destinations.