[THE CONCEPT OF HOSPITALITY IN MEDICAL TOURISM: SEMIOTICS OF THE HOST ENVIRONMENT AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION]

The article examines the concept of hospitality in the context of medical tourism from a semiotic and intercultural perspective. The host medical environment is considered as a system of signs through which patients form perceptions of safety, trust, and quality of medical care. Particular attention is paid to the mechanisms of interpreting cultural codes, visual and verbal communication strategies, as well as the interaction between the foreign and the familiar within the medical space. Based on a comparative analysis of practices in Russia and other countries, the study identifies key features of the representation of hospitality and its role in shaping the experience of medical tourists. The article argues that hospitality in medical tourism functions as a complex semiotic system that facilitates patient adaptation within a different cultural and institutional environment.