Erhan DAĞ
Abstract
Objective: Third age tourism, a subset of health tourism, is gaining importance with the rise of the elderly population, which poses challenges in healthcare provision. Countries offering affordable treatment and care have facilitated the growth of this tourism segment. This study aims to provide a scientific basis for future research by examining academic publications related to health services and elderly tourist satisfaction within third age tourism using bibliometric analysis. Materials and Methods: A search was conducted in the WOS database using keywords including “older tourists,” “health services,” “expectations,” “satisfaction,” “health tourism,” and “medical tourism” for publications up to March 15, 2025. A total of 125 interdisciplinary studies were identified and analyzed using VOSviewer 1.6.18 and Microsoft Excel. Analyses included publication year trends, citation counts, countries of origin, institutions involved, and major funding organizations. Findings: The first relevant study was published in 2010. A decline in publication numbers occurred after 2014, 2018, and 2022, with fluctuating annual output since 2013. “Medical tourism” was the most frequent keyword (f=156), and Malaysia led in publication count (n=15). The most cited article was by Han and Hyun (2015), with 362 citations. Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) was the top funding body, while University Sains Malaysia was the most active and well-funded institution. Conclusion: Third age tourism is increasingly significant due to the aging population’s healthcare needs. The growing academic interest reflects this trend. The findings offer valuable insights for researchers aiming to explore elderly satisfaction and healthcare services in this context.
Keywords: Health tourism, Third age tourism, Health service satisfaction, Bibliometric analysis
JEL Codes: I11, L83, C80
How to Cite: DAĞ, E. (2025). Health services in the context of Third Age Tourism: Expectations and Service Satisfaction of Older Tourists. Health Tourism Journal, 1(1), 42-53.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15699917
