INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE SPHERE OF MEDICAL TOURISM IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Introduction. Increasing the competitiveness of medical tourism in Ukraine is due to the need to find new sources of economic growth in the post-war reconstruction, because the development of this area can stimulate the development of related industries, create new jobs. Attracting foreign patients will contribute to improving the quality of medical services, implementing international standards of treatment, which will ultimately strengthen trust in the domestic healthcare system both in the domestic and foreign markets.

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to systematize the factors influencing the competitiveness of medical tourism in Ukraine under martial law and to substantiate practical mechanisms for stimulating entrepreneurship in this area to increase it.

Materials and methods. The study used a methodological framework aimed at implementing the specified goal - the analysis of the conceptual foundations of the competitiveness of medical tourism as a multi-level economic category. Using analytical and scientific materials, a survey analysis of the approaches of domestic and foreign scientists to the issues of determinants of industry development, business models and the ecosystem of entrepreneurship in the field of medical tourism was carried out. Guided by the provisions of the subject method, the composition of persons (subjects) involved in the processes of providing and supporting medical tourism services was determined. Factor analysis allowed us to establish a list of factors influencing the competitiveness of medical tourism, which were grouped using the PESTLE method. In addition, the comparative analysis method was used to assess the effectiveness of various business models under martial law.

Results. The article analyzes the conceptual foundations of the competitiveness of medical tourism as a multi-level economic category covering the macro-, meso- and micro-levels. The key determinants of the impact on the development of the industry are identified, including political-legal, economic, socio-cultural, technological, infrastructure-logistics and military factors, which are systematized using the PESTLE method. The entrepreneurship ecosystem in the field of medical tourism in Ukraine is studied, with the allocation of four types of entities (direct providers of medical services, medical aggregators, related services, investment structures). It is established that B2C, B2B and platform business models have different efficiency in war conditions: B2C requires high investments and a long time to market, while B2B through medical travel agents provides faster patient attraction with lower initial costs, but reduces margins by 10–20%. It is substantiated that the main barriers to competitiveness are the lack of specialized legislation on medical tourism, unapproved pricing methodology for foreigners, closure of international airports, migration of more than 15% of doctors abroad and damage to more than 200 medical facilities as a result of hostilities. A three-in-one mechanism for stimulating entrepreneurship is proposed, which is based on the development of medical clusters. In general, the influencing factors are systematized, which allowed us to outline strategic directions for restoring and increasing the competitiveness of Ukrainian medical tourism even under martial law.

Discussion. Prospects for further research may be aimed at developing a quantitative model for assessing the impact of military risks on the investment attractiveness of Ukrainian medical clusters, as well as at empirical verification of the proposed triune mechanism for stimulating entrepreneurship (clustering, public-private partnership, innovation).