STORY: Türkiye expects boom in health tourism to alleviate economic woes
DATELINE: July 13, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:29
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: HEALTH/ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of tourists at an airport in Türkiye
2. various of scene of beach
3. various of a hospital
4. SOUNDBITE (English): ERDEN KILIC, Head of a private hospital in Ankara

STORYLINE:

Türkiye has seen a notable rise in the number of medical tourists as the country steps up efforts to boost health tourism.

According to the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, in the first three months of this year, the number of visitors to Türkiye for health and medical reasons increased by 37.5 percent compared to the same period in 2022.

It said that Türkiye expects to receive over 1.8 million health tourists this year, with an increase of approximately 30 percent.

Erden Kilic, a professor of orthopedics and the head of a private hospital in Türkiye's capital city Ankara told Xinhua in a recent interview that he expects a bigger rise.

SOUNDBITE (English): ERDEN KILIC, Head of a private hospital in Ankara
"We are a medium-sized hospital with 65 beds. So people already know Türkiye for their holidays. When they know about the healthcare, they come here, they get treatment, they get their holiday and they can return back to their homes after taking this healthcare at very affordable prices. We have a lot of experience in hospitality and tourism. We are also expecting more and more patients from abroad."

Around one million people came to Türkiye for hair transplants last year, bringing the country a revenue of approximately 2 billion U.S. dollars, said Servet Terziler, head of the Turkish Health Tourism Association.

Terziler said the country has set a goal of making a turnover of 20 billion dollars in health tourism in the coming few years.

He added that 70 percent of Türkiye's medical tourists come from Europe and 30 percent from the Arab states.

To attract more tourists, many Turkish medical tour companies offer their clients packages that include medical procedures and resort visits.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)