Application of Latent Class Regression in the Study of Factors Affecting the Demand for Domestic Medical Tourism in Mashhad

Medical tourism is one of the Thriving industries in the world, which has a great relationship with cultural interactions and economic development, and in addition, has political benefits. The purpose of this type of tourism is to use the facilities and benefit from the potential of medical staff in the destination. Our country Iran and Mashhad city also have high potential in this type of tourism. In this study, to investigate the factors affecting the demand for medical tourism in Mashhad, the effect of effective indicators has been investigated. The model used in this research is Latent class regression, the dependent variable of which is the demand for medical tourism in Mashhad. This model is estimated by Stata 16 software and the required information is collected through a questionnaire. The statistical population of this study was medical tourists in Mashhad in 2020, 150 of these tourists were randomly selected as a sample. According to the results of this study, increasing the quality of medical services and increasing the quality of urban services will increase the demand for medical tourism in Mashhad. The quality of medical services sub-indices and urban factors sub-indices have also been evaluated separately by tourists.