Medical Tourism

Turkey has attracted a quarter of a million visitors for the purpose of medical tourism, as its health care facilities received 264,138 visitors with the aim of medical tourism in the first 6 months of the year 2019, and the country aims to reach a total of one million people by the end of the current year 2019.

The Turkish government has shown an increased interest in this type of medical tourism, as it is expected that the income of medical tourism in Turkey will increase to 3.5 billion dollars, surpassing the total of 2.5 billion dollars that it recorded at the end of last year 2018, when Turkey attracted 551,748 tourists, coming. From more than 120 countries, to take advantage of the very advanced health treatments in Turkey.
Medical tourism in Turkey
In this regard, the Director of the Turkish Cultural and Media Attaché, Mr. Salih Ozer, said: Turkey is now one of the poles of medical tourism in the world, as it occupies the third place after the United States and South Korea in this field, and the proof of this is that medical tourism in our cities has increased continuously in For the past 10 years, we have invested heavily in the development of the healthcare sector, and now provide high quality treatments at very reasonable prices.
Turkish cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Izmir, Yalova and Adana received the largest number of visitors for medical tourism, especially from the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, in addition to tourists from Germany, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iraq.
Types of treatment in Turkey
The clinics that specialize in ophthalmology, obstetrics, gynecology, cancer medicine, orthopedics and cardiac surgery were among the top 10 clinics for visitors coming for the purpose of medical tourism in Turkey in 2020.

Advantages of medical tourism in Turkey
Ozer added, saying: Tourists go to health resorts in Turkey for the purpose of taking advantage of advanced cosmetic treatments, and in addition, they benefit from spending the most beautiful vacations in addition to receiving these treatments.

As medical tourism is Turkey one of the fastest growing sectors, the country witnessed an increase in the number of these from 75 thousand visitors in 2007 to 700 thousand visitors in 2017.

According to the Ministry of Health, most hospitals have the infrastructure equipped with advanced equipment necessary to receive patients from different parts of the world.

Turkey has recently revealed several initiatives aimed at reducing the costs of health care services for visitors from abroad. In 2018, the government announced the lifting of the value-added tax for non-residents who receive medical treatments in institutions approved by the Ministry of Health.
After these initiatives, medical tourism has become one of the most important pillars of the Turkish economy, and it is one of the main sources of Turkish national income, which has relied heavily on the flourishing of medical tourism in Turkey.

In addition, the government has made health care an integral part of Turkey's medical tourism development plan, with the aim of attracting 2 million visitors, with the aim of medical tourism in Turkey, and achieving an income of $ 10 billion annually by 2023.