Turkey, an idyllic tourist destination, has emerged as a preferred medical tourism country. Its pleasant and affable Mediterranean climate does help in rejuvenating the patient from their medical condition. Recent market research reports on medical tourism in Turkey show high growth trends. Turkey is a preferred medical tourist destination for residents of England, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Romania and even certain countries of Latin America and the Middle East.
The presence of many JCI accredited hospitals who are the one of the Top Hospitals in Turkey have accelerated its image as a reliable medical services provider.
Figure 1 – Turkey’s Revenue Generation through Medical Tourism
Let us review the factors accelerating the growth of medical tourism in Turkey
- Medical infrastructure of Turkey
Today, Turkey is equipped with an adequate state-of-the-art and 50 JCI-accredited hospitals that offer premium quality treatment to visiting patients. The best hospitals in Turkey are located in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The most preferred treatments include cosmetic procedures, hair transplant procedures, cardiac care, neurology, dental procedures, oncology, and much more.
- Cost of Treatment
The treatment costs are nearly less than 50% of that charged by hospitals in the UK and the United States of America. Moreover, the doctors and allied medical staff speak fluent English with a warm, caring and helpful attitude. With preference given to visiting patients, the waiting time for treatment is considerably less than those in Western countries.
- Preparedness to receive Medical Tourists
As the world phases out from the COVID pandemic phase, Turkey is again gearing up to receive and treat an increasing number of medical tourists from Russia, Bulgaria, the Middle East, Romania, Syria, Kosovo and even select European countries. Moreover, the medical and health services offered are on par with the EU standards, adding value to this promising sector.
- Better Treatment options through an online search
Currently, locating the availability of reliable and affordable medical treatment across the world has become very convenient and simplified. People can log online and search for their preferred treatment and get a plethora of options. Moreover, they can always log on to ClinicSpots, the world’s leading healthcare Q and A platform that offers responses to medical queries and helps patients seek affordable treatment options across the globe, including Turkey.
- Discounted Air Charges
Turkish Airlines, the national air carrier, has announced that it will offer discounted flight fares to medical tourists travelling to Turkey for treatment. Patients from more than 50 countries can arrive in Turkey with a four-hour flight for medical treatment at a new airport in Istanbul.
Current Scenario of Medical Tourism in Turkey from a Global perspective
Recent market research reports on medical tourism in Turkey show high growth trends. The presence of many JCI accredited hospitals and ease in procuring travel assistance has encouraged the growth of medical tourism in the county. Similarly, private investment in modernizing medical and hospital services is rising in Turkey, which is yet another good sign.
News reports that medical tourists from Europe, especially Great Britain, preferred to visit Turkey for their treatment during the COVID 19 pandemic. Most medical visitors seek cosmetic surgeries, hair transplantation, dental treatment, cancer, neurology, neurosurgery, and cardiac care for patients across all age groups in Turkey.
As per reports published by the Global Political Trends Center (GPoT Center) is a non-profit, non-partisan research institution in Turkey, the following trends were revealed – In the year 2019, Turkey ranked third as the most preferred destination for medical tourism after Thailand and Mexico –
Figure 3 – Most preferred destinations for medical tourism
Reports of Turkey following the requisited WHO recommendations regarding safety and quarantine measures during the COVID pandemic and the availability of medical treatment to tourists relate to their dedication to serving the patients. Incidentally, the Turkish government has played an active role in establishing public and private health services for decades.
The hospitals in Turkey followed the WHO-laid down COVID safety protocol and guidelines and yet managed to save lives of many critically ill patients, relating to their dedication to treat and serve people. Currently, Turkey has intensified its efforts to welcome more medical tourists. It’s likely inclusion in the European union will also give a good boost to this sector.
The Turkish government has been funding the development of medicine in its country for decades. Therefore, public and private hospitals are not inferior in the quality of medical care to clinics in Israel, the United States and Europe.
ClinicSpots, a healthcare Q and A platform which provides medical tourism services in India.
Apart from India, we have been promoting medical tourism in Turkey as well. We have tie-ups with Memorial Hospital and Medical Park, the main hospital chains in Turkey across all their clinics and all specialties.
The year 2022 marks nearly the end of the COVID 19 pandemic, the opening of medical tourism services has yet to take up speed, however, we are sharing a few important statistics that highlight Turkey’s potential to perform considerable well in this sector.
Thailand has just 8 JCI accredited hospitals while India and Turkey both have 30 JCI accredited hospitals, this leaves plenty of scope for Turkey to emerge as top contender for a better spot in the ranks of medical tourism destinations.
With hopes that number of hospitals with the Joint Commission International (JCI) will grow post COVID, most medical tourists can expect safe medical treatment in Turkey.
