Purpose

This paper aims to introduce an under-researched concept, travel medicine, to the hospitality field and proposes future research directions. This paper also highlights the need to acknowledge the missing link between hospitality and medical science and encourages research on the health of hotel guests, especially those with mental disorders.

Design/methodology/approach

By synthesizing relevant literature, this study proposes a conceptual framework focused on identifying and filling knowledge gaps between hospitality and medical science. Pathways for empirical research on hotel guests’ travel health are suggested accordingly.

Findings

This paper reveals that the topic of travel medicine has been neglected in hospitality, especially in relation to vulnerable hotel guests. Additionally, this study suggests that researchers should move beyond the confines of social science and conduct interdisciplinary hospitality studies. In-depth analyses of hotel guests’ health and safety are also recommended.

Research limitations/implications

This conceptual piece serves as a “provocation” that is exploratory, thus laying a foundation for future interdisciplinary studies bridging hospitality and medical science. This paper offers practical significance for hospitality stakeholders (i.e. academics, practitioners, hotel guests and society) and also provides guidelines on how to create vulnerability-friendly hospitality environments.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study takes an important step toward interdisciplinary research between hospitality and medical science through the lens of travel medicine. This paper offers insight to bridge these disciplines and extend hospitality research into medical science. This paper further identifies an under-investigated topic and feasible research avenues that can offer timely solutions for hospitality academics and practitioners.

中文翻译：

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酒店业的旅行医学：跨学科视角

目的

本文旨在将一个尚待研究的概念——旅行医学——引入酒店领域，并提出未来的研究方向。本文还强调需要承认酒店业与医学之间缺失的联系，并鼓励对酒店客人的健康进行研究，特别是那些患有精神障碍的客人。

设计/方法论/途径

通过综合相关文献，本研究提出了一个概念框架，重点是识别和填补酒店与医学之间的知识差距。相应地提出了酒店客人旅行健康实证研究的路径。

发现

本文揭示了旅行医学这一主题在酒店业中被忽视，特别是对于弱势酒店客人而言。此外，这项研究建议研究人员应该超越社会科学的范围，进行跨学科的酒店业研究。还建议对酒店客人的健康和安全进行深入分析。

研究局限性/影响

这个概念性的作品作为一种探索性的“挑衅”，从而为未来连接酒店业和医学的跨学科研究奠定了基础。本文为酒店业利益相关者（即学者、从业者、酒店客人和社会）提供了实际意义，并为如何创建脆弱性友好的酒店环境提供了指导。

原创性/价值

据作者所知，这项研究通过旅行医学的视角，朝着酒店与医学之间的跨学科研究迈出了重要的一步。本文提供了连接这些学科并将酒店研究扩展到医学科学的见解。本文进一步确定了一个尚未充分研究的主题和可行的研究途径，可以为酒店学者和从业者提供及时的解决方案。