Female Medical Tourists' Enplanement Intentions and Airline Cabin Design in Developing Economies

The future of medical tourism in Africa is tied to travel and aviation plays a key role in propelling tourism across borders. This study examined the influence of cabin design on the enplanement intentions of female medical tourists in Africa. Data were obtained using an online semi-structured bi-lingual questionnaire. The survey data were analysed with R software. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis and Sobel, Aroian, and Goodman tests for mediation showed that three elements of seat design (backrest, seat pitch and legroom) had both direct and indirect effects on enplanement intention. This calls for diligent attention and efforts by airlines to remodel aircraft and redefine their services as regards cabin comfort for female medical tourists. This would give the airline an edge over competitors. As a multidisciplinary study, it sets the path towards the revival of the future of travel and tourism in Africa, post-pandemic.