After a chaotic 2020, which was marked by the coronavirus pandemic that halted international travel and left no industry unaffected, Turkey’s health tourism industry is optimistic about 2021.
The country’s health tourism industry closed 2020 with approximately a 20% loss, after being valued at around $3 billion (TL 22.32 billion) in 2019, Turkey Health Tourism Association Chairperson (TÜSATDER) Servet Terziler said.
“After the success of vaccine studies, health tourism can surpass the 2019 figures in terms of turnover as of the second half of 2021,” Terziler said in a statement Sunday.
He added that Turkey, which is taking firm steps toward becoming a global brand in health tourism, survived 2020 with minimal damage, despite the fact that the economy and social lives came to a near standstill.
The industry closed 2020 with a turnover of $2.5 billion, according to the TÜSATDER head, who stressed the results from the COVID-19 vaccine studies will determine the future of both the world and health tourism.
“Health tourism closed the year with little damage despite the loss in the first three months … There has been a 20% loss compared to 2019. In hair transplantation alone, 2020 turnover reached $1.3 billion. We saw a significant acceleration in the number of patients coming from abroad in July, August and September,” said Terziler.
