Health Tourism in Turkey: Opportunities and Threats

Abstract

Health Tourism is becoming an upward trend in our globalised world. Health tourism can be simply defined as travelling of the individuals to other countries to seek medical care. Increased health care expenses in the West and the globalisation have led individuals to seek health care in other countries that provide affordable health care. On the other hand, wellness and anti- aging practices are also gaining ground in today’s modern world. The urge to look good on individuals as a result of the existing trends in today has also led the individual to seek advice in wellness and anti-aging. The changes in life styles and health marketing policies on wellness and anti-aging practices, lack of adequate insurances, high costs and travel means have increased the interest on health tourism. Turkey is a good destination for health tourism. Because of the high quality of service provided at an affordable cost. Also, there are no long waiting lines for foreign patients; the visa procedures are easy for most of the nations. The purpose of this paper is to outline the opportunities and threats of health tourism in Turkey.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n10p424