Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The meeting held at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Twin Towers building was attended by TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu and Minister Muş, as well as Deputy Minister of Trade Volkan Ağar, Service Exporters Association and THY Chairman Ahmet Bolat, TOBB International Health Tourism Council President Dr. Özgür Öztan and many sector representatives.

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that the health tourism sector is one of the areas which will present opportunities for Turkey with the pandemic left behind, “Our health services have come to a point that stands out and is recognized worldwide with both its scope and quality. With our geographical location, natural resources and well-trained human capital, we have shown that we have the quality to play global leadership in every field of health tourism.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu, reminding that they have established the International Health Tourism Council in the field of health tourism, which he argues is important for Turkey, said, “In our Council, our most competent organizations specialized in many branches from hair transplantation to physical therapy, from plastic surgery to organ transplantation are represented. On the other hand, there are hospitals and clinics such as eye, dental, patient and elderly care. In this sense, our Sector Council aims to be the flagship of our country's health tourism sector and to promote our country's flag in the best way in the world.” Hisarcıklıoğlu noted that the International Health Tourism Council is working intensively to determine the road map in the branding process of health tourism with a broad perspective, and that the summit introduction meeting brought together the sector representatives as part of this goal.

Regarding the content of the package, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This package is the clearest indication that the opinions and suggestions of the private sector are listened to by emphasizing consultation. We see that many innovations from branding to employment supports, from health insurance to consumer-oriented supports such as product placement and advertising are included in this package.”

- Minister of Trade Muş

Trade Minister Mehmet Muş announced the 'Health Service Export 5.0 Supports' aiming to increase exports in health services. Minister of Trade Mehmet Muş stated that the “Heal in Turkey” portal, which was established to increase health service exports, will eliminate the lack of promotion in this field and said, “I believe that our health service export revenues will reach $ 5 billion in a short time with the work of valuable representatives of the sector and the effect of our new support mechanisms, and we will reach $ 10 billion in the medium term.”

Mehmet Muş, in his speech at the program, noted that with the Presidential Decrees published on April 20-21, the supports given in health service exports have gained a new dimension and been expanded and enriched, and these supports have been interwoven with the feedback and contributions of the representatives of the health service export sector. Muş said that they aim to export a sustainable health service with an innovative perspective in accordance with the needs and purposes and that they can qualify the new supports they have designed in line with this goal as “Health Service Export 5.0 Supports” under a single title.

- Supports

Stating that the first support from the new support package listed under 6 headings is “complication and travel health insurance support”, Muş said, “With this support, it has been ensured that a person who visits our country to receive treatment is completely insured from the loss of their suitcase to the emergency health service they may need during their visit and the complication that may arise after the treatment. Moreover, considering the importance of the insurance element, we have determined the support rate as 70 percent, not 60 percent, so that there will be affirmative action specific to this support item.”

Muş informed that the second commitment is “employment support” to the health service sector and said: “We believe that by enriching the services we offer in the form of a package, it will allow the revenues obtained from service exports to be even more value-added. For example, it is important for a foreign patient visiting Ankara to extend their stay to Cappadocia or Bolu by extending their stay in addition to medical treatment, to benefit from cultural and geothermal opportunities and to share this positive experience with other potential patients in their country. With this understanding, we have encouraged, the employment of qualified personnel needed in a wide range of health service export value chains, from guide to interpreter, from call center personnel to social media and marketing specialists, from elderly and disabled care personnel to social workers.”

- President of the Service Exporters' Association Bolat

Ahmet Bolat, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Service Exporters' Association and THY, stated that the service sector exported $ 58.1 billion in 2021 with an increase of 65 percent compared to the previous year and had a trade surplus of $ 26.5 billion, and said, “Our goal is to increase our exports by 2 times in 2025 and realize exports of $ 110 billion.”

Stating that health service export revenues, which are known to be much higher, were over 1 billion dollars in 2021, Bolat said, “We are striving to reach our 2023 targets in 2022, especially with healthcare travel accelerated after the pandemic.”

Bolat stated that the number of patients coming to Turkey is constantly increasing and rising to over 1.5 million, and said:

“Our sector, which is among the top 10 in the world in healthcare service exports, offers the best treatment opportunity to patients from all over the world in many different fields from complex treatments such as cardiology, oncology and organ transplantation to treatments such as aesthetics, dental, hair transplantation. Our goal is to be among the top 3 in the world. We continue all our work in line with this goal. It is also possible for us to increase the added value created by the sector with the different products we will offer to the visitors for therapeutic purposes and to make more profit by ensuring that the service sectors overlap with each other.”

- TOBB Health Tourism Council President Öztan

TOBB Health Tourism Council President Öztan stated that the Health Tourism Council aims to make Turkey a center of attraction in the field of international health tourism by revealing the problems encountered in the field of health tourism in cooperation with the institutions working in the sector, developing solution proposals and presenting the relevant institutions, playing an important role in increasing the share of patients and at the same time strengthening its mission of being the flagship in the health tourism sector at the point of coordination with the public.