With its highly qualified medical staff, quick and effective health-care services, world-class technological and medical equipment, low price advantage, thermal underground resources, and traditional Turkish hospitality, Turkey is one of the most popular destinations for medical tourism, according to an expert.
“Turkey has achieved great success in the field of health in the last 20 years,” Prof. Murat Dizbay, deputy chief physician and international health office manager at Gazi University Hospital in the capital Ankara, told Anadolu Agency on the occasion of Public Health Week celebrated every year between Sept. 3-9 in Turkey.
“Turkey, which has been closely following the recent technological innovations around the globe, has become a leader in its region with its specialized health professionals,” Dizbay said.
Patients from many countries across the world as well as neighboring countries visit Turkey to receive treatment, he noted, adding Turkish institutions, both in the private sector and in the public sector (university and state hospitals), have achieved significant successes in the field of medicine.
Today, there is annual traffic of 30 million people who go out of their countries as part of health tourism in order to receive quality health services with more affordable prices and shorter waiting times. Health tourism expenditures in the world are expressed with nearly $500 billion, International Health Services Inc. (USHAS), an institution of the Turkish Health Ministry, said on its official website.
Turkey’s target for 2023 in health tourism is to reach 1.5 million health tourists and $10 billion in health tourism income, according to USHAS.
In recent years, Turkey has risen to the top among the most preferred countries in the world with its rapidly developing health tourism potential.
Underlining that Turkey has a deep-rooted history in providing health services, Dizbay said spa and thermal facilities in the country have been attracting people from all around the world for thousands of years.
“Good results are achieved when the high-quality health service delivery is combined with friendliness and hospitality,” Dizbay noted.
The fact that international patients are offered shorter waiting times for diagnosis and treatment while receiving health care services is also an important factor that makes Turkey a leading country in the health sector, he stressed.
The rapid transfer of the latest technology used in the world to the country and affordable price advantage compared to developed countries make Turkey a center of attraction for health tourism, he said.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused serious problems in the health sector in Turkey as well as all over the world, Dizbay said.
He noted that there was a significant decrease in the number of international patients after flights from countries whose citizens frequently visit Turkey was canceled during the full lockdown periods.
The increase in the burden of Turkish hospitals and the overwork of health workers during the pandemic period have also negatively affected health tourism in the country, he said.
Dizbay, however, underlined that Turkey has managed the recent crisis successfully thanks to its strong health system.
This success has also attracted the attention of patients and health care providers in other countries and led to a rapid increase in the number of patients visiting the country, according to Dizbay.
He said he expects the increasing trend in the number of patients coming from abroad will continue in the future.
The interest and investment of Turkey’s national government in health tourism is very high, he said, adding that in recent years, an increase has been observed also in the promotion of activities related to health tourism at the national and institutional level.
