Turkey, which hosts health tourists from many countries, especially from Europe, the Middle East, the Balkans, the Turkish Republics and North Africa, has become one of the preferred destinations of international patients with its services in various medical fields, especially aesthetic and plastic surgery, hair transplantation, dental treatments, ophthalmology, orthopedics and traumatology, cardiology and oncology.
Stating that Türkiye has recorded stable growth performance in health tourism in recent years, Mustafa Eröğüt, Board Member of Service Exporters Association (HIB) and Chairman of the Health Services Committee, said: “While the number of people visiting our country to receive health services reached 1 million 398 thousand 580 in 2025, the revenue from health tourism was 3 billion 22 million 452 thousand dollars.” he said.
Stating that the positive dynamics continued in the first quarter of this year, Eröğüt said, “While 302,487 international patients received healthcare services in our country in the first three months of the year, health tourism revenue reached 761 million,” he said.
Emphasizing that they attach great importance to quality-oriented growth as well as quantity in health tourism, Eröğüt explained that the sharp increase in per capita income compared to the same period last year is a concrete indicator that the country's high-tech health infrastructure, health facilities at international standards and expert human resources are more favored at the global level.
Eröğüt stated that their expectations for the end of the year are positive and that they will resolutely continue their work to support sustainable growth in health tourism.
“We have seen a notable increase in demand from Central Asian countries in recent years.”
Eröğüt explained that their goal is to further increase Türkiye's competitiveness in the field of international healthcare services, increase the number of foreign patients and increase revenue from healthcare services exports. In this sense, he explained that they continue their advertising, branding and international cooperation activities to increase the contribution of health tourism to the country's service exports.
Stating that Türkiye provides services to a very wide geographical area thanks to its geographical location, strong health infrastructure and health services at international standards, Eröğüt said:
“We host health tourists from around 180 countries, especially from Europe, the Middle East, the Balkans, the Turkish Republics and North Africa. In particular, Germany, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Azerbaijan, the Russian Federation, Libya and the Gulf States are among the markets that send the most patients to our country. In addition, in recent years we have observed a notable increase in demand from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries.”
Our industry now strives not only to grow in existing markets, but also to establish a lasting presence in new markets. Although Sub-Saharan Africa, Gulf States, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and North America have great potential in this context, we are focusing on strengthening Türkiye's brand awareness in health tourism through promotional activities.”
Mustafa Eröğüt pointed out that one of Türkiye's most important advantages in health tourism is its ability to offer world-class healthcare services in many different areas and said, “Aesthetic and plastic surgery, hair transplant, dental treatments, ophthalmology, orthopedics and traumatology, cardiology, oncology, in vitro fertilization treatments and obesity surgery are among the areas that international patients are most interested in. While aesthetic surgery, Hair transplants and dental treatments make up a significant part.” of revenue from health tourism, oncology, cardiovascular surgery “Türkiye's international patient attractiveness is increasing every year in areas that require advanced expertise, such as organ transplantation and transplantation,” he said.
Eröğüt stated that Türkiye is one of the world's leading health destinations, offering health tourism services in more than 40 cities with more than 1,500 health facilities and hundreds of internationally accredited centers. The main reasons for the preference of international patients are high clinical success rates, advanced technology infrastructure, experienced medical staff and cost advantages of 40 to 70 percent compared to Europe.
“The average health care expenditure per person was about $2,500.”
Explaining that in health tourism, they now care not only about increasing the number of patients but also the added value achieved per person, Eröğüt said:
“The average per capita healthcare expenditure is around US$2,500. However, we see that this figure can fluctuate between US$10,000 and US$50,000, especially in the areas of oncology, cardiovascular surgery, robotic surgery, organ transplantation and complex treatment processes. This shows that Türkiye has achieved a strong position at the global level not only in high-volume but also in high-value-added healthcare services. Our goal The next step is to further improve the international patient experience and focus on treatments that have high demands.” Technology and strengthening the Turkish brand “Sustainably increase both the number of patients and per capita income.”
Stating that they aim to further strengthen the country's global health tourism brand thanks to the work carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce, HİB and industry players, Eröğüt said: “The Heal in Turkey brand is our country's common flagship in the field of international health services. In addition, the international advertising, fair participation, brand and Turquality support provided by our Ministry of Commerce increase the international competitiveness of our sector. Our goal is to strengthen Türkiye's position as a global brand that not noticeable, to further strengthen.” not only with its price advantage in health tourism, but also with its reliability, quality, advanced technology and patient satisfaction.” he said.
Pointing out that it is of great importance to effectively combat unregistered activities so that Türkiye can maintain its good reputation on the international stage, Eröğüt said that the Heal in Turkey platform ensures that international patients can safely reach authorized health facilities and intermediary organizations.
Stating that Türkiye is among the leading countries in the world with the number of healthcare facilities with JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation, Eröğüt stated that the proliferation of international accreditations, especially JCI, supports the continuous improvement of patient safety, clinical quality and service standards while strengthening the country's brand value and international competitiveness in healthcare tourism.
Eröğüt advised international patients to ensure that the healthcare facility or intermediary institution they choose is authorized to secure all services related to the treatment process through a written contract and to avoid unregistered intermediaries that only provide services through social media.
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