Behlul Unver, General Manager of International Health Services (USHAS) has stated that Turkey aims to attract $20 billion USD in annual revenue from ever-increasing health tourism numbers by the end of 2028.
Attending a meeting in the north western province of Edirne, Unver said that Turkey is aiming to become “the centre of healing in the world” by increasing health tourism and the promotion of services offered in the country by implementing visionary projects for the advancement of the sector.
Unver said that Turkey is a country with huge health tourism potential still yet to be realised. He said: “We are an institution that offers high-quality, qualified health care services to the entire world. We do not see health tourism only as medical tourism; we can also evaluate thermal tourism, tourism for the disabled, third-age tourism, and health living practices.”
Unver stated that health tourism is progressing in Turkey and becoming an important source of income for the nation. He said: “When we look at the data from 2023, Turkey earned $3.1 billion from health tourism, and approximately 1.65 million people came to Turkey for health care.”
He continued to note that 2024 figures are in line with 2023 figures. In the first nine months of 2024, approximately 1.15 million people travelled to Turkey for health tourism reasons, bringing $2.15 billion in total revenue. Once figures from the final quarter are released, that number is expected to surpass the totals of 2023.
According to data, global health tourism revenue is around $100 billion and is set to rise to around $127 billion by the end of 2028. Unver stated that Turkey’s goal for 2028 is to have a $20 billion share of global revenue.
Unver finished by saying: “We want to achieve this with all our stakeholders. We are shaping Turkey to become the world’s centre of healing. Turkey is the destination for hair transplants, and we are among the top 10 countries in organ transplantation. Turkish doctors are capable of performing all aesthetic surgeries.”