Latar belakang: Medical tourism menjadi bidang yang penting dalam perkembangan perekonomian suatu negara. Perkembangan medical tourism di Indonesia, khususnya Bali memiliki potensi yang cukup tinggi karena Bali telah dikenal dengan keindahan alam serta budayanya sebagai tujuan wisata. Pre-arrival experience merupakan aspek penentu dalam pengambilan keputusan melakukan medical tourism. Tujuan Penelitian: Studi ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui faktor yang mempengaruhi pre-arrival experience dalam kaitannya dengan pengambilan keputusan melakukan medical tourism. Metodelogi penelitian Penelitian ini menggunakan desain kualitatif dengan pendekatan fenomenologis. Penelitian dilakukan di RSK Bedah BIMC Nusa Dua Bali, pada Oktober-November 2023. Hasil penelitian: Faktor pre-arrival experience yang berkaitan dengan pengambilan keputusan yaitu faktor reputasi rumah sakit, komunikasi, sumber infrormasi, status ekonomi, biaya layanan, kualitas layanan, kualifikasi tenaga medis, citra lokasi, dan faktor motivasi individu. Faktor pendukung dalam pengambilan keputusan sebagian besar berkaitan dengan kualitas rumah sakit, jarak yang dekat dengan negara asal, dan Word-of-Mouth (WoM). Peneliti tidak menemukan adanya faktor penghambat dalam pengambilan keputusan, namun terdapat beberapa kondisi yang membuat tourist kurang nyaman dalam pre-arrival experience yaitu faktor psikologis, kendala bahasa di luar rumah sakit, dan kekhawatiran dari lingkungan sekitar, berkaitan dengan kualitas layanan medical tourism di Indonesia. Kesimpulan: Penelitian ini menemukan beberapa faktor pre-arrival experience memberikan pengaruh besar dalam pengambilan keputusan, terutama faktor biaya layanan. Citra lokasi dan faktor motivasi individu menjadi faktor baru yang peneliti temukan.

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Background: Medical tourism is an important field in the economic development of a country. The development of medical tourism in Indonesia, especially Bali, has quite high potential because Bali is known for its natural beauty and culture as a tourist destination. Pre-arrival experience is a determining aspect in decision making for medical tourism. Research Objective: This study aims to determine the factors that influence pre-arrival experience in relation to decision making to undertake medical tourism. Research methodology This research uses a qualitative design with a phenomenological approach. The research was conducted at the BIMC Surgical Hospital Nusa Dua Bali, in October-November 2023. Research results: Pre-arrival experience factors related to decision making, namely hospital reputation, communication, information sources, economic status, service costs, service quality, qualifications medical personnel, location image, and individual internal factors. Supporting factors in decision making are mostly related to hospital quality, proximity to the country of origin, and Word-of-Mouth (WoM). Researchers did not find any inhibiting factors in decision making, but there were several conditions that made tourists less comfortable in the pre-arrival experience, namely psychological factors, language barriers outside the hospital, and concerns from the surrounding environment, related to the quality of medical tourism services in Indonesia. Conclusion: This research finds that several pre-arrival experience factors have a big influence on decision making, especially the service cost factor. Location image and individual motivation factors are new factors that researchers discovered.