Türkiye’s Trabzon emerges as hub for health tourism

Health tourism and treatment in public and private hospitals in Türkiye’s Trabzon have drastically increased, with more than 30,000 patients last year, according to reports shared by Provincial Health officials Sunday.

Trabzon, situated on the Black Sea coast, is a popular destination for tourists, especially during the summer months, with most visitors coming from the Middle East and Gulf countries.

Hakan Usta, the provincial health director, expressed optimism about the growth of health tourism in the region, saying they would “assume a greater role in the field with their hospitals that have received health tourism certificates.”

He also noted that they hope to see an increase in demand from neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan by at least 20% this year.

Elaborating on the permission provided by the ministry to meet with the agencies, Usta noted that they are preparing the relevant protocols, which should be ready quickly. Stating that most patients come from Georgia, he reiterated the high expectations for more visitors from Azerbaijan, Iran and Gulf states.

Dr. Celal Tekinbaş, the chef physician at Karadeniz Technical University’s (KTU) Farabi Hospital, on the other hand, noted that during the past year, more than 4,000 patients were treated at the hospital within the scope of health tourism.

“But what is more important to us than the number of patients coming within the scope of health tourism is that the benefit we give to those patients is very high,” Tekinbaş said.

He also noted that studies are being carried out to demonstrate the health system’s quality and that health tourism services are not limited to the country’s area.

“In health tourism units, we employ staff who speak English, Russian, Georgian and Arabic. We have staff who care for them (international patients) from diagnosis to treatment and going to their hometowns. We have made agreements with companies authorized to conduct international health tourism,” he underlined.

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