“There will be a remarkable boost in the number of ‘medical tourists’ to Turkey if we can manage to promote ourselves as an attractive medical treatment hub outside the country,” he said, stressing that the state should also shoulder its responsibility in this regard. “The biggest drawback is the lack of effective promotion abroad. The Ministry of Tourism could take care of this; we are not asking them for incentives or financial support. The only thing we expect from the government is that they undertake the promotional aspect.” Baş says Turkey deserves to become one of only a few countries in people’s minds when it comes to medical treatment abroad; it has a well-organized medical infrastructure and the advantage of its geographical proximity to such large and promising markets as the EU and the Middle East.

“Around 3.5 to 4 million people travel abroad for medical treatment every year; Turkey’s share among the destinations stands at 3 percent. Turkey attracts around 100,000 patients for medical tourism, including people of Turkish origin living abroad.” Explaining that the global medical tourism market is expected to reach $60 billion by 2012, Baş said he believes Turkey could take a larger slice of the cake than it currently does.

As regards the future of the sector, Baş thinks healthy competition at home will play an important role. “There are four medical tourism consulting firms in Turkey, but this is not enough. There should be more so we can benefit from greater competition.” But he still has some reservations. “Those who enter this business must be professionals; otherwise, the market could be adversely affected.”

Baş established the company in 2002 in Vienna. The whole story began when he wanted to have a laser operation on his eyes. “When I researched and compared the markets, I saw that this operation was four times more expensive in Europe than in Turkey. Then I decided to guide people from Austria, of Turkish origin in the first place, to benefit from the cheap but quality services in Turkey. Later on local people started to come, too,” he explained. “The feedback we have received from patients so far is very positive; they are happy with the services in Turkey.”

US emerging as a

lucrative market for Turkey

Gusib works with some of Turley’s leading hospitals, particularly in İstanbul, bringing people over from Europe, the Balkans and Central Asia, Baş said. “We are also interested in the US market, which offers comparatively bigger opportunities for Turkey in the long run.” The number of people from the US traveling abroad for medical treatment is expected to reach 1.6 million annually, a Deloitte report has found. Baş says most companies in the US are seeking cheap, alternative options for the medical care of their personnel and that Turkey is a favorable destination. “From our meetings with sector representatives in the US, I can easily say this market should be focused on; there is great potential.”

Baş’s company provides all-inclusive packages for patients, and this is becoming increasingly popular. “We offer employers in the US an all-inclusive package, including return tickets, hotels and medical treatment. People can spend less on medical treatment in Turkey than they could in their home countries, and people can also enjoy a holiday here. For instance, a bypass operation costs $110,000 in the US, the same operation is only $15,000 in Turkey. The firms will save a significant sum of money if they choose to have their employees treated in Turkey.” Another prominent detail, Baş added, is that an employee from the US has to pay around 10 percent of the cost of treatment at home, but if they go abroad they are exempt from this expenditure.

As regards the difference in medical tourists’ tendencies, he says tourists from Europe prefer Turkey for their medical treatment because prices are cheap, while people from the Middle East and Central Asia primarily come for the high quality of service. “Most patients come for a facelift, eye or dental services. There has been a particular increase in demand from Balkan countries over the past few years. People want high quality and cheap medical services.” Baş said tourists spend 2,500-3,000 euros on average during their stay for medical treatment in Turkey. In addition to this, he continues, the promotions offered by Turkish Airlines (THY) play an important role in attracting medical tourists to Turkey. “THY offers a 25 percent discount to every patient and one person accompanying them on their visit to Turkey for medical treatment.”

“I think Turkey’s potential for medical tourism will continue to grow in the future,” the Gusib head said. He cited certain drawbacks in most of the developed countries’ health systems, like the EU and the US, as the major factor behind this fact.

New partnerships at

Venice conference

Baş participated in a European Medical Tourism Conference (EMTC 2010) in Venice last week and was able to seal some preferential deals. “More than 1,000 sector representatives were there, and we had the opportunity to promote Turkey as a medical tourism destination.”

“We have agreed to become Turkey’s representative for Treatment Abroad, a leading medical consulting network, following our meeting in Venice. In addition to this, Mercury Health Care, another global network connecting providers with employers and insurance companies, said we could use their network in the US before we start bringing people from the country to Turkey. “One thing is that we have to provide post-treatment services to the patients who come to Turkey. This is perhaps the most critical step in the business. You need to meet people’s needs after treatment, and we must establish this system; hospitals in Turkey should undertake this. We expect the government to make it compulsory that every tourist -- including the non-medical tourists -- to Turkey get health insurance. This will be a brand new application in Turkey if put in action,” he explains. As regards some of the associated businesses that medical tourism drives, Baş says thermal and spa tourism is one of them. “We at Gusib might consider engaging in the spa wellness business in the future as a service that would complement the medical treatment services we already provide.” Turkey has certain drawbacks to overcome in wellness tourism, however, the first of which is a well-developed infrastructure.

Baş says they are working on a new project that envisages attracting pensioners, particularly from Scandinavian countries, where the governments are looking for ways to minimize expenditure on retirees. “Norway is keen to send pensioners to Turkey as the government wants to pay less for their treatment and insurance, and we have enough capacity to host these people.” Baş explained that the EU allocated $1 billion to caring for pensioners last year and added that it is a burden on EU governments. “We anticipate building village resorts where older tourists can receive the necessary medical treatment. This is a promising new field of investment and is also critical in diversifying services,” Baş said, predicting that Antalya could be a major hub for this venture.