Recently, many tourists of the world look for medical treatment for relaxation and pleasure and South Korea has witnessed the development of medical tourism. Altough tourist`s needs for dental treatment may be different from medical tourist`s needs, d...
Recently, many tourists of the world look for medical treatment for relaxation and pleasure and South Korea has witnessed the development of medical tourism. Altough tourist`s needs for dental treatment may be different from medical tourist`s needs, dental tourism has been regarded as a sub-division of medical tourism. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the perception of dental treatment based on Health Belief Model (HBM) and Chinese buying intention in South Korea. Among health behavior theories, the Health Belief Model has enhanced understanding customer behaviors of world-wide medical treatment seekers. A total of 212 Chinese were randomly chosen in the summer of 2011 in China and surveyed data was analyzed by t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Regression analysis (sig. p<0.05) using SPSS statistics package Ver 15.0. The results of the present study revealed that the perception of Korean dental treatment (perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, and perceived benefit) based on HBM had a significant effect on Chinese buying intention. Thus, the present study highlights that a marketer should focus on Chinese buying intention related to perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, and perceived benefit for the enhancement of buying intention as marketing tool of dental tourism. Additionally, understanding the effect of demographic factors (gender, age, education, and past visiting experience of Korea, etc.) on perception and buying intention is mandatory to prepare new era of dental tourism.