Turkey Aims to Lead the Global Health Tourism Industry

Istanbul, Turkey | March 26, 2010 by D-8 Secretariat

Based on DEİK’s health report, Turkey will be among countries to lead the global health tourism market, eventually by offering affordable prices in health care services.

A recent report presented to Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek by the Foreign Economic Relations Board, or DEİK, says Turkey has a great potential to grow in the health care tourism sector. To actualize that, however, the industry is in need of incentives from the government, mainly concerning a Value Added Tax reduction. If the necessary Value Added Tax, or VAT, incentive is passed for Turkey’s health tourism, then the country could begin earning $8 billion from the industry beginning in 2015, according to a report released by the Foreign Economic Relations Board, or DEİK.

Turkey’s tourism industry, which is not just about the sea, beaches and sun anymore, has started to compete with Far East, said the report.

Based on DEİK’s health report, Turkey, India, Israel and Singapore will start leading the global health tourism market eventually by offering affordable prices in health care services. Turkey currently lures in about 30,000 to 40,000 international patients and slowly but surely is eliminating its competitors. If the industry is offered a VAT reduction, then starting in 2015, some 1 million patients could be lured into the country, bringing in an income of $8 billion.

According to the report, India, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan lead the current global health tourism industry. The cheapest country to provide health services depends on the illness. According to the report, the most expensive country is the United States. In the U.S. a by-pass surgery costs about $129,000. The same surgery costs about $11,000 to $15,000 in Turkey. The country that attaches the lowest price tag to the aforementioned surgery is India with $8,666. Liposuction costs about $3,333 in Turkey while the same surgery costs only $1,200 in Thailand, $2,500 in India and $3,000 in Singapore.

Surgery with the gamma knife, a device used to treat brain tumors with a high dose of radiation therapy and the most accepted and widely used radiosurgery treatment, costs $8,676 in Turkey. The price tag for gamma knife treatment is $40,000 in the U.S. while it costs $25,000 in the United Kingdom and $20,000 in Germany. Spine surgery costs $7,125 in Turkey while it costs $12,000 in India, $9,000 in Singapore, $7,000 in Thailand and $5,900 in Taiwan.

The report was presented to Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek by DEİK and highlighted the importance of providing incentives for the industry in order to help Turkey grab a valuable spot in the international health tourism market. Healthcare services help lure in an influx of foreign currency to the country. Therefore, tax returns should be distributed for the purchase of tools used within the industry as well as for all health services, according to the report. If health tourism is exempt from taxes, that would help eliminate short term losses, and in the long run it would help the country gain.

There is a revival in health tourism activities in Turkey’s southeastern cities, according to Dr. Azmi Ofluoğlu, board chairman of the Universal Hospitals Group. Wealthy Middle Easterners, who might face trouble getting visas for Western countries, began choosing Turkey as a health care services destination, he said. Investors need to look at the action in the southeast and figure out ways to benefit from the situation, Ofluoğlu added.

News and photosource: Hurriyet Daily News/Referans

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