Published December 31, 2025 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Segment-Based Development of Tourism in Türkiye: A Long-Term Assessment with a Focus on Health Tourism

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University

Contributors

  • 1. ROR icon Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University

Description

 Purpose: This study aims to examine the development dynamics of Türkiye’s health tourism sector by analyzing purpose-of-travel–based tourist expenditure data for the period 2014–2024 in conjunction with global tourism statistics, from a value-based tourism economics perspective that emphasizes per-capita expenditure and high value-added travel segments. The primary objective is to identify how visits motivated by health and medical needs have evolved compared to other travel categories.

 Method: The research employs a secondary data analysis approach. Per-capita tourism expenditure and global tourism mobility figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute and international tourism databases were evaluated. Tourist spending by travel purpose between 2014 and 2024 was compared, and global trends in tourist arrivals and tourism revenues for the 2016–2024 period were analyzed to contextualize Türkiye’s health tourism performance within broader international developments.

 Findings: The results indicate a notable rise in spending among visitors traveling to Türkiye for health and medical reasons, increasing from USD 2,153 in 2014 to USD 2,620 in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 1.98%. Education-related travel showed a 44.79% increase, while the “other” category rose by 47.68%. In contrast, expenditures associated with shopping, visiting friends and relatives, and business travel declined over the same period. Despite the sharp global contraction during the pandemic, international tourism rebounded significantly in 2024, reaching 1.470 billion arrivals and 1.735 USD trillion (untourism, 2025) in revenue.

 Conclusion:  The findings indicate that health tourism represents the most stable and highest-performing travel category for Türkiye in terms of per-capita expenditure and visitor numbers. The increasing demand for medical travel strengthens Türkiye’s competitive position and highlights the strategic importance of the health tourism sector. Accordingly, policy initiatives and investment strategies aimed at supporting and expanding this field should be prioritized.

Files

Segment-Based Development of Tourism in Türkiye.pdf

Files (621.7 kB)

Additional details

Software

Repository URL
https://inhealththeory.com/index.php/pub/issue/view/4

References

  • Ateş, A., & Sunar, H. (2024). Comparison of Türkiye's medical tourism market with existing and potential competitor countries. Journal of Society, Economics and Management, 5(2), 342–368. https://doi.org/10.58702/teyd.1419097 Aydın, Y. E., Çalıpınar, S., Korkmaz, S. G., & Kanmaz Demir, L. (2024). A systematic review of medical tourism supply chain: Current status and future directions. International Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research, 2, 213–226. https://doi.org/10.30625/ijctr.1525031 Bookman, M. Z., & Bookman, K. R. (2007). Medical tourism in developing countries. Palgrave Macmillan. Büyük, Ö. (2023). Health tourism in Turkey: A pursuit of wellness. In E. Tengilimoğlu (Ed.), Tourism: Theory and practice (pp. 1–20). Yaz Yayınları. Carrera, P., & Bridges, J. F. P. (2006). Globalization and healthcare: Understanding health and medical tourism. Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, 6(4), 447–454. https://doi.org/10.1586/14737167.6.4.447 Connell, J. (2013). Contemporary medical tourism: Conceptualisation, culture and commodification. Tourism Management, 34, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2012.05.009 Crooks, V. A., Kingsbury, P., Snyder, J., & Johnston, R. (2010). What is known about the patient's experience of medical tourism? A scoping review. BMC health services research, 10(1), 266. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-10-266 Demirören Haber Ajansı, (2025, 5 Ekim). Dr. Bahat: Türkiye sağlık turizminde dünyada lider 5 ülke arasında. Özel Hastaneler ve Sağlık Kuruluşları Derneği (OHSAD). https://ohsad.org/dha-com-tr-dr-bahat-turkiye-saglik-turizmi nde-dunyada-lider-5-ulke-arasinda-5-ekim-2025/ Fetscherin, M., & Stephano, R. M. (2016). The medical tourism index: Scale development and validation. Tourism Management, 52, 539–556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.08.010 Goeldner, C. R., & Ritchie, J. B. (2011). Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies. John Wiley & Sons. Gössling, S., Scott, D., & Hall, C. M. (2021). Pandemics, tourism and global change: A rapid assessment of COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1758708 Hanefeld, J., Horsfall, D., Lunt, N., & Smith, R. (2015). Medical tourism: A survey of UK medical professionals' awareness and attitudes. Globalization and Health, 11(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.016 Lunt, N. (2011). Medical tourism: treatments, markets and health system implications: A scoping review. https://l24.im/xOWS68C Masoud, F., Alireza, J., Mahmoud, K., & Zahra, A. (2013). A systematic review of publications studies on medical tourism. Journal of education and health promotion, 2(1), 51. https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9531.119037 Öcel, Y., & Karaca, Ş. (2023). Sağlık turizminde kent rekabetçiliği öncüllerinin elmas modeli kullanılarak irdelenmesi. InTraders International Trade Academic Journal, 6(2), 174-200. https://doi.org/10.55065/intraders.1388828 Öztürk, N., Çoban, M., & Ekinci, E. (2020). A bibliometric analysis of the 100 top-cited publications in health tourism. International Journal of Health Management and Tourism, 5(3), 315-335. https://doi.org/10.31201/ijhmt.790108 Resmî Gazete, (2017, 13 Temmuz). Uluslararası Sağlık Turizmi ve Turistin Sağlığı Hakkında Yönetmelik (Sayı: 30123). https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2017/07/20170713-3.htm Sag, I., & Zengul, F. D. (2019). Why medical tourists choose Turkey as a medical tourism destination? Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 2(3), 296-306. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-05-2018-0031 Sigala, M. (2020). Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research. Journal of Business Research, 117, 312–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.015 Smith, M., & Forgione, D. A. (2007). Global outsourcing of healthcare: A medical tourism decision model. Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research, 9(3), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228053.2007.10856117 Smith, M., & Puczkó, L. (2014). Health, tourism and hospitality: Spas, wellness and medical travel. Routledge. Song, H., Qiu, R. T., & Park, J. (2019). A review of research on tourism demand forecasting: Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on tourism demand forecasting. Annals of tourism research, 75, 338-362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2018.12.001 T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı, (2012). Türkiye sağlık turizmi el kitabı. Sağlık Turizmi Daire Başkanlığı. https://ekutuphane.saglik.gov.tr/Yayin/132 T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı, (2024, 8 Nisan). Sağlık turizminde küresel merkez Türkiye. Ticaret Bakanlığı. https://ticaret.gov.tr/haberler/saglik-turizminde-kuresel-merkez-turkiye Timothy, D. J. (2005). Shopping tourism, retailing and leisure (Vol. 23). Channel View Publications. TÜİK, (2025a). Turizm istatistikleri: Ziyaretçi sayıları 2014–2024. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu. TÜİK, (2025b). Turizm istatistikleri: Turizm gelirleri 2014–2024. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu. UN Tourism, (2025). UN Tourism tourism dashboard. https://www.unwto.org/tourism-data UNWTO, (2024). Tourism highlights: 2024 edition. United Nations World Tourism Organization. https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/978 9284425808 Wong, I. A., & Wan, Y. K. P. (2013). A systematic approach to scale development in tourist shopping satisfaction: Linking destination attributes and shopping experience. Journal of Travel Research, 52(1), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287512457263 Xu, T., Wang, W., & Du, J. (2020). An integrative review of patients' experience in the medical tourism. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958020926762 Yalman, İ. N., & Arık, Y. (2025). Türkiye'de sağlık turizminin gelişmesini etkileyen faktörler. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Vizyoner Dergisi, 16(46), 658–675. https://doi.org/10.21076/vizyoner.1544820 Yalman, F., & Balkanal, S. (2024). Competitiveness analysis of thermal health tourism sector in Phrygia thermal tourism development region. InHealth Theory, 1(1), 43-62. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14617721