The Determination of the Status of Turkey in the Medical Tourism Market in Accordance with the Demands of Health Tourist

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Medical tourism is the process that people, who need surgical intervention, travel from their region to another region at the request of receiving more professional and cheaper medical services. The main purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of consumer demand in the medical tourism market and to find out what can be done to gain a competitive advantage in the medical tourism market of Turkey in accordance with these conclusions. Medical tourism practices in the world and Turkey have been analyzed and comparisons have been made in line with this purpose. In the study, SWOT analysis has been used to reveal the current situation of Turkey by compiling the secondary data. It is found that Turkey has not yet got the share which it wants in the medical tourism market. In addition to keeping up with the technological developments in health tourism, Turkey has been also making new investments in health tourism. At the same time, there are studies that aim to develop health tourism by including it in development plans. These studies will enable health tourism to institutionalize and to be planned in a coordinated way. Considering the wealth of alternative tourism in Turkey, the increase in investments and the research of the demands of health tourists will also bring a competitive advantage. This study is important in terms of proper guidance on investments of medical tourism in Turkey, in the future.