The Ministry of Commerce announced that Turkiye ranks 7th in the world with 40 health institutions with internationally accepted accreditation in the field of health tourism and reached an income of $2.3 billion in this field last year.
In the statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that while health travel is rapidly becoming widespread, activities to increase the added value of health tourism in the country’s economy, to open companies to international markets and to increase their competitiveness and branding are supported.
In the statement, it was pointed out that 175 institutions operating in the health tourism sector are included in the “Heal in Turkiye” internet portal, which was launched with the support of the Ministry and is the face of Turkiye’s brand in the health tourism sector and the promotion strategy associated with this brand, and that the applications to take part in the portal are increasing day by day. “Turkiye ranks 7th among all countries in this field with 40 health institutions with internationally accepted accreditation, which contributes positively to medical tourist preferences. The Middle Eastern countries, especially Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, are the countries that send the most health tourists to our country.”
Last year, 1.4 million health tourists came
In the statement, it was reported that $1.9 billion of income was generated from health service exports in 2022, and this figure reached $2.3 billion with 1.4 million health tourists coming to the country in 2023.
In the statement, it was stated that 12 trade and purchasing delegations organized by sector representatives were supported last year, and that a national participation organization was organized in the 2 leading fairs of the sector held in Berlin and London.
In the statement, the support provided by the ministry to companies operating in the field of health services exports was also noted and the following was noted:
“National participation organization to the world’s most important tourism fairs was organized and 6 HISER projects in which sector representatives participated were included in the scope of support. 7 brands are supported within the scope of TURQUALITY and 7 brands are supported within the scope of the Branding Program.
The support provided to our companies operating in the health services export sector in 2023 increased by 281% to ₺733 million. “As the Ministry, we will continue to work in coordination with sector stakeholders to increase the share and added value of our country in global health tourism, and we will take firm steps towards our goal of becoming a global center.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz