Turkish Property Port

Turkey Among Top Destinations for Health Tourism

As much as we love travelling mainly for the sake of discovering new cultures and taking time off to relax with a change of scenery, there is a considerable amount of us, who travel to become healthier. There is an estimated number of 30 million people that spend billions of dollars in total on health tourism every year. In recent years, Turkey has become one of the top destinations in the world for those that travel in order to get better. Last year, over 700,000 people visited the country seeking medical treatment.  Turkey's Ministry of Health plans to increase the amount to 2 million people in a year. There is also a plan to introduce tax-free health zones for international patients.

There are several reasons behind this amazing boom in the number of people visiting Turkey for health tourism. Just like the booming Turkish property market, the medical tourism sector's high-speed growth can be explained through similar reasoning. Turkey is a fast-growing, young economy. It has great universities, public and private hospitals, clinics and research centers staffed and equipped up to world standards. The costs are much less than the costs of similar procedures in Germany or the United States, the two long-time leaders of health tourism in the world. Istanbul is an incredible city that not only offers some of the best health facilities in the world, but is also an exotic and beautiful destination. Turkey has one of the richest histories and cultures in the world. It also has amazingly diverse nature and can be visited all throughout the year. It is also a bridge between Europe and Asia, conveniently located for people from both continents. No wonder why so many people come here every year be it for the purpose of seeking medical treatment or looking for property for sale in Turkey.

Istanbul and Antalya are the most preferred cities by tourists and it's no different when it comes to health tourism. There are many great public and private hospitals, clinics, laboratories and imaging centers, as well as well-trained, experienced and polite health-care professionals, Some of the luxury hospitals in Istanbul make you feel like you're walking into a five-star deluxe hotel. You can even add some extra days to your trip to discover a few of the must-see sites close by. Who knows, maybe the cities will be so good for you that you might even start looking at flats for sale in Istanbul or Antalya.

Other cities popular for medical tourism are Izmir, Bursa, Ankara, Afyonkarahisar, Kocaeli and Adana. Eye-related diseases are the number one reason why patients come to Turkey for health tourism, followed by oncology, cardiovascular and plastic surgery. Dental tourism is also extremely popular. Traditional health tourism such as thermal baths and spa treatments are another reason why many people come to Turkey to become healthier. Bursa, Afyonkarahisar and Izmir are famous destinations for patients with rheumatic diseases.

Another key factor that has played an important role in the rapid growth of health tourism is cost. Patients that come to Turkey for a complicated cardiovascular procedure like a by-pass end up saving up to 60%. Turkey is also among the top 10 countries with the highest number of plastic surgeons.