Medical and health tourism is one of the most attended types of tourism in the world especially since the last decade. Majority of medical tourists travel the world to find the best treatments with affordable prices and good quality of service. And Turkey is one of the top countries in the world when it comes to medical and health tourism. Here you can read about why Turkey is a superb choice for medical treatments, and the opportunities on the top destinations on the Aegean Turkey, including Izmir, Kusadasi, Didim, Bodrum, Mugla, Marmaris, Dalaman and Fethiye.
What exactly is Medical Tourism?
There is nothing in life more important than your health. Without good health life becomes unbearable and one cannot maintain happiness. Whether you are seeking some medical help for your appearance in cosmetic surgery or something about your medical condition, such as cancer treatment, rehabilitation, cardiac surgery, fertility treatment, etc., and given that you are not in a situation to afford all your expenses in your home country if the costs are so high or if you don’t have the perfect medical service for your needs, understandably, you need to go beyond your comfort zone and seek help in other countries where you can have a great vacation at the same time.
Yes, this is how health tourism was formed; all-in-one for the benefit of the patient!
Health tourism, a.k.a. Medical tourism happens when a person travels outside the country of his/her residence to receive medical care. The term was also referred to the traveling of patients from less-developed countries to developed ones for treatments that aren’t available in their homeland.
Medical travelers, a.k.a. Health tourists prefer to travel for pleasure by scheduling a vacation before or after their procedure. This is an inexpensive way to travel to a foreign country to have a hassle-free path to a rewarding patient experience, especially if their insurance provider is paying for the flight and the cost of accommodation isn’t that high.
There are 5 types of health tourism; namely, spa tourism, spa-wellness, elderly tourism, disabled tourism, and medical tourism.
A medical traveler needs to be well-informed; therefore, should have all the guidance and tools at hand before jumping on the medical travel journey. You need to make safe, intelligent, and cost-effective decisions about your healthcare abroad, making sure the quality of care for treatment provided by medical providers in medical travel-friendly countries is worth all your effort.
Turkey’s Strengths in Medical Tourism
Turkey is one of the most-traveled health destinations on the rise with its economic opportunities and high potential to make significant and innovative investments to improve the quality of healthcare, and it is the global hub for healthcare tourism.
Although Turkey has a substantial clientele; however, out of millions of visitors Turkey receives per year, not many of those visits are for medical reasons indeed. While the share of health expenditures in Turkey’s tourism revenues was 1% in 2002, this rate increased to 4.5% in 2020. In 2019, however, 662,087 patients received health services in Turkey valued at around $3 billion (22.32 billion TRY).
The tourism attraction of Turkey is significantly high thanks to its gorgeous climate, clear sea, idyllic beaches, fabulous thermal springs, thalassotherapy (spa therapy) opportunities, forests, plateaus, ease of transportation, cultural heritage, and more.
Other reasons for preference include modern hospitals that provide advanced examination and treatment with high-quality service and qualified personnel at affordable prices. It is no doubt that Turkey is one the most ideal regions for medical and alternative health tourism, ranging anywhere from specialized spa treatments attracting wellness tourism to advanced surgery.
The clinical branches most preferred by international patients on medical tourism trips for the most frequent conditions treated are hair transplant Turkey, rhinoplasty in Turkey, cosmetic surgery, weight loss, gynecology/tube baby pregnancy/in-vitro fertility, internal medicine, ophthalmology, medical biochemistry, general surgery, dentistry/dental treatment, orthopedics/traumatology, infectious diseases, dermatology, liver/kidney transplants, spine surgery, cardiac surgery, and ear-nose-throat.
In health tourism, Turkey is one of the most advantageous countries in terms of its political and geo-strategic position. It has the opportunity to provide health services to 1.5 billion people within a 4-hour flight distance.
Reasons for patient movement towards Turkey
- Close flight distance
- Affordable treatment costs
- Qualified personnel & human resources
- Quality service
- Modern medical technology with advanced technological infrastructure
- Short wait time, always available medical staff
- Socio-cultural similarity
- Touristic activities
- Having national airlines that provides access from the most flight destinations in the world
- Turkey ranks 2nd in the world in terms of the number of hospitals accredited by JCI.
- Many health-themed thermal resources
- Amazing climate
- In the center of historical and cultural heritage
- Significant workforce potential with its young population
- Cheaper health services than many countries
Coming to Turkey for Medical Care
Each year, millions of travelers participate in medical tourism. Turkey has been ranked among the top 10 countries around the world in health tourism and the medical sector itself has been accepted with the largest growth performance in a 5-year projection by Forbes.
Official figures reflect the interest of tourists who seek treatment in areas, such as oncology, orthopedics, and aesthetics in the past few years; and Turkey has developed its investment portfolio within the framework of these categories.
Turkey’s health tourism services include providing advice, organizing next-day admissions, being in touch 24/7 with the hospital personnel, organizing transfers and accommodation for you and your family.
It provides a personalized and highly dedicated service. You don’t need any more anxiety regarding the ambulance transfers, hospital waiting lists, cultural differences, or language barriers; it guarantees a trusted and smooth journey that will make you feel relaxed and happy.
Medical & Health Tourism on the Aegean Turkey
Aegean Turkey consists of top holiday destinations, as well as well built cities such as Izmir, Kusadasi, Didim, Mugla, Dalaman, Bodrum, Marmaris, and Fethiye. And those cities and resorts has good potential and medical infrastructure in the field of medical tourism.
Aegean Turkey is also very ideal for those who want to spend their holidays as well as receive variety of treatments such as aesthetics, dentals, hair transplantation, and thermal springs and facilites before going back home.
Aegean Turkey has great opportunities for its visitors with its surroundings, long coastline, outstanding landscape of pine-covered hills, isolated bays and inlets, wonderful beaches, ancient cities, marinas and every kind of attractions, and welcomes millions of travelers each year.