The challenges of kish health tourism: A case study

Background: Health tourism industry is a new growing market that developing countries have a large effect on it and noticing this subject has been emphasized by the vision of twenty years strategic plan in Iran. On the other hand, increase of the neighbor countries attention on this profitable market marker to a basic removal need of present challenges in Kish Free Zone. Objectives: Aim of this paper is to probe about the challenges of Kish health tourism identified in this case study at 2012 by qualitative method. Methods: Effective variables on health tourism were extracted from relative literature and then, variables in 34 groups were combined as a questionnaire with considering the proximity of concept and content. 14 persons were chosen as expert among the present and previous managers of tourism, healthcare system and health tourism areas by Modulation from simple and snowball sampling. Experts in addition to recognized challenges, expressed how significant is each one of health tourism developing factors and gave their expletive ideas about each challenges by Semi-structured interviews which were analyzed by Content Analysis Method. Results: The 13 main challenges of Kish health tourism extracted from interviews were related to policy making and planning, substructure and administrative problems, and macro affaires of country. Conclusions: Kish Free Zone Organization as governance representative in Kish should eliminate the existing challenges of health tourism industry in order to develop Kish health tourism. Keywords: Case Study, Health Tourism, Iran, Kish Free Zone, Medical Tourism.