The Effect of Tourism Development on the Relationship: between Social Capital and Medical Tourism

Social capital is considered as one of the emerging and controversial fields in the interdisciplinary studies of sociology and economics. The state of the economic system, benefiting from health and well-being and having friendly relations with others are part of the basic elements needed that are effective in improving the quality of life. After the second world war, most development theories and theories that tried to provide a way to achieve economic development and move towards a welfare society, without considering the context of the society and how the human relations hidden in it affected the economic planning of the governments. While recent researches have shown that the way people interact with each other, the manner and extent of their participation in civil affairs and their common beliefs and values can have a significant effect in reducing time and economic and social costs. Therefore, the concept of social capital has been proposed, which includes institutions, relationships, attitudes and values that guide people's interaction and make them participate in economic and social development.