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The President of the Healthcare Investors Association, Dr. İhsan Şahin, stated that Türkiye ranks among the top five countries in the world in health tourism. Şahin said, “Despite all international competitors and negative developments, Türkiye’s progress in this field continues without being hindered.”

Pointing to the positive results of global investments and promotional activities in health tourism, Dr. Şahin noted that the number of tourists visiting Türkiye for medical treatment has continued to increase year after year. He emphasized that Türkiye has entered the top five countries worldwide in health tourism.

Highlighting the potential of health tourism to help offset the decline in conventional tourism, Dr. Şahin said that international medical tourists spend significantly more than traditional tourists. He noted that a medical tourist visiting Türkiye leaves approximately $8,000 to $10,000 in foreign currency per person. He added that the increasing number of international patients visiting city hospitals could generate significant foreign-exchange revenue for the country, both in terms of quality and volume.

SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER ARE PREFERRED MONTHS

Recalling that Türkiye generated more than $5 billion in health tourism revenue in the previous year, Dr. Şahin stated that this figure was expected to increase further.

According to Şahin, the leading Turkish cities preferred by international health tourists include Istanbul, Antalya, Adana, İzmir, and Bursa. He also noted that September and October are generally among the most preferred months for health tourism.

AMONG THE WORLD’S LEADERS

Dr. Şahin pointed out that health tourists spend considerably more than conventional holidaymakers, stating that an international medical tourist visiting Türkiye contributes approximately $10,000 in foreign-currency revenue.

He further emphasized that, according to evaluations by the World Health Tourism Council, Türkiye ranks among the leading countries in the global health tourism sector.

2023 TARGET: $20 BILLION

Explaining that Türkiye’s health tourism targets would be expanded as city hospitals began providing services, Dr. Şahin stated that the expectation for the following year was to attract 1 million international health tourists and generate $10 billion in revenue.

He added that Türkiye aimed to increase the number of international health tourists to 2 million by 2023 and achieve $20 billion in health tourism revenue.

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