Ranking the Factors Influencing the Development of Health Tourism in Iranian Cities Using the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process

Razazan, Poyan; Hosseinpur, Haleh; Vahid, Arash

doi:10.22034/ijumes.2025.2078954.1348

Ranking the Factors Influencing the Development of Health Tourism in Iranian Cities Using the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Poyan Razazan ¹

Haleh Hosseinpur ²

Arash Vahid ³

¹ Department of Urban Planning, Ki.C., Islamic Azad University, Kish, Iran

² Department of Urban Planning, Pardis.C, Islamic Azad University, Pardis, Iran

³ Department of Urban Planning, WT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/ijumes.2025.2078954.1348

Abstract

Health tourism, as an emerging and strategic domain of the tourism industry, possesses significant potential for economic development, job creation, and the enhancement of urban branding. This study aims to identify and prioritize the factors influencing the development of health tourism in Iran by employing the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process FANP. The statistical population consists of operators, entrepreneurs, experts, planners, and practitioners in the field of health tourism; data were collected through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The analysis reveals that the development of health tourism is a multidimensional process in which institutional management and policymaking play a central and guiding role. Economic, infrastructural, and technological support factors act as complementary components that, through their interactions, ensure the industry’s sustainability and competitiveness. The findings emphasize the necessity of adopting a systemic and data-driven approach, strengthening economic and urban infrastructures, enhancing human resource training, and utilizing advanced technologies to achieve sustainable health tourism development. Beyond managerial and policy implications, the results provide a foundation for comparative studies and future research in the field of multi-criteria decision-making.

Graphical Abstract

Ranking the Factors Influencing the Development of Health Tourism in Iranian Cities Using the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process

Highlights

· Institutional management and policymaking were identified as the primary drivers of health tourism development in Iran.

· Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) revealed a multidimensional structure in which economic, infrastructural, and technological factors play complementary roles.

· Strengthening urban infrastructures, enhancing human resource training, and adopting advanced technologies significantly improve sustainability and competitiveness in health tourism.

· The findings provide a data-driven foundation for future comparative and multi-criteria decision-making studies in the health tourism domain.

Keywords

Fuzzy Analytic Network Process, health tourism, Multi-Criteria Decision-Making, sustainable development

urban economy

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