Cooperation perspectives in sustainable medical tourism: The case of Lithuania

Abstract

Sustainable medical tourism is an emergent and growing business worldwide, combining different and very specific purposes from pleasurable travel to sometimes-stressful services of health care. Lithuania can boast of medical technologies and the professionalism of doctors, but this is not enough to compete in the field of sustainable medical tourism. In this situation, cooperation is very significant in sustainable medical tourism. This research investigates a conceptual framework for cooperation possibilities in sustainable medical tourism. Based on a systematic and comparative analysis of scientific literature, the authors of this paper present the conceptual model illustrating the dissemination of sustainable medical tourism through cooperation. The overall results imply that facilitators' cooperation perspectives in sustainable medical tourism should be highly beneficial for participants and medical tourists. The basis for the improvement of cooperation is communication, contact development, the form of work organization, coordination of work, sharing of knowledge and experience. Cooperation in this particular field determines the role of tourism development, but it is concluded that cooperation in this area is not developed well.