Yeni Safak – Türkiye’s rise in world health tourism will double the revenue the country makes from treating foreign patients in 2014, according to Minister of Health, Mehmet Muezzinoglu.
“Russians and citizens of the Turkic republics top the list of foreign patients who prefer Türkiye. We aim to double this year’s USD 2.5 billion medical tourism income in 2014”, Muezzinoglu said, assessing his Ministry’s yearly performance.
“Beginning in 2014, two successive 5-year plans will be put into action to further improve Türkiye’s status as a regional healthcare hub that can serve the surrounding region of about a billion people”, Türkiye’s Minister of Health noted.
Hosting a large number of world-class healthcare facilities and internationally accredited hospitals, Türkiye welcomed some 270,000 foreign patients seeking high-quality and affordable treatment in 2012, up from 74,000 in 2008.
Planning to introduce tax-free healthcare zones specifically tailored for foreign patients, Türkiye’s Ministry of Health intends to increase the number of medical tourists to 500,000 by 2015 and 2 million by 2023.