The expansion of medical or health tourism is one trend that has recently emerged in the medical world. Simply expressed, this refers to the act of traveling to another country in order to access its healthcare system.

The Health Tourism Industry

Residents of less developed nations, where some medical treatments for particular ailments are still unavailable, are more likely to pursue health or medical tourism. To receive the appropriate care they require, they travel abroad. However, the trend is changing, and more developed nations are looking for medical care that is less expensive but of higher quality, with shorter waiting times (or no waiting times in many cases).

The worldwide medical tourism market is predicted to reach $179.6 billion in 2026 due to the growing popularity of health tourism.

Some other reasons for this movement’s popularity are:

• More affordable treatment without sacrificing the quality of service
• No need to wait for a schedule for elective surgeries or procedures
• For immigrants flying to their home country for a medical procedure, it is the time to get the healing and care they need
• For others flying away from their country, taking the treatment away from their home means fewer questions to answer and fewer explanations to make to family and friends.

Choosing Turkey for Medical Tourism

Turkey is one of the top 17 destinations for tourists seeking medical care nowadays. In 2018, 700,000 tourists traveled to Turkey just to utilize the country’s first-rate healthcare offerings. Medical tourists make up 32% of all patients in the nation!

Some of the reasons behind Turkey’s popularity include but not limited to the following:

• The country has an affordable healthcare system
• It has the highest number of US-accredited hospitals
• Most doctors, having trained in Europe and America, choose to practice and take up their residency in Turkey.