Health tourism is the phenomenon of individuals traveling to other countries to receive medical treatment, based on need or desire.
It has become one of the fastest developing sectors in the world due to the reasons stated below:
The internet and social media make it easier for patients to access information about anything regarding treatment options, doctor backgrounds, patient experience and commentaries, quality standards, utilized equipment and materials etc. They are provided with personalized assistance before they travel and informed comprehensively during the decision stage. Our patients choose us to make their health tourism experience safe and trustworthy, as we guide and accompany them throughout the journey.
In the first three quarters of 2023, a total of 1,026,492 people visited Turkey to receive healthcare services. The main factors enabling Türkiye to be one of the most preferred countries in health tourism can be listed as:
As of 2023, according to TUIK data, there are approximately 145,000 doctors, 1,300,000 health personnel, 300,000 nurses, 1450 hospitals, 240,000 patient beds, 35,000 intensive care beds and the number of organ transplants in the last 20 years is around 25,000 in Turkey. In light of these data, it can be said that our country is in a good position and is still developing.
On the other hand, health tourism is expected to grow further in the following years. It is estimated that the world population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050. This population growth will increase the demand for healthcare services and their quality. Increasing demand for health services, especially among the elderly, will contribute to the growth of health tourism.
With the yearly increasing treatment costs, patients are in search of convenient alternatives for treatment. Medical tourism will continue to grow as a result of this trend, as it offers patients better quality and cost-effective treatment options.
Easier transportation and communication enable patients to travel to other countries easily. For example, the proliferation of low-cost airlines allows patients to travel to other countries at affordable prices. These developments contribute to the growth of health tourism.
Institutions or organizations offering health tourism services must meet certain conditions to maintain both the quality of healthcare services and the satisfaction of patients. These conditions can be categorized as reliable technological infrastructure, well-educated and experienced specialist doctors and trained personnel, and high-quality service standards.
Health tourism institutions should be able to answer patients’ needs not only about their medical treatment processes but also about matters such as transportation and accommodation. To legally provide all health tourism services, institutions get an International Health Tourism Authorization Certificate from the government.