Consumer participation in the health tourism innovation process

The aim of the study is to compare the level of innovation of companies introducing innovations with consumer participation with that of other innovative providers of health tourism services. The following hypothesis was formulated: Companies benefiting from the participation of consumers in the process of innovation represent a higher level of innovativeness than other innovative providers of health tourism services. The following methods were used: a comparative analysis, a questionnaire (CAWI and PAPI), a standardized interview, and the ranking method. 461 providers of health tourism services participated in the research. The value and implications of the paper for the economic sciences contribute to the development of innovation theory. The hypothesis has been positively verified. The research shows a much higher level of innovation in companies cooperating with consumers (patients) than that of other respondents.