Medical tourism to Turkey from Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE has significantly increased since the beginning of 2018 as Turkey’s international reputation as a high-quality medical services provider to global patients grows.

Over the years, Turkey has established a reputation and developed the necessary infrastructure required to become a leading global player in the healthcare services industry. The country’s close cultural and religious ties with the GCC countries have therefore made Turkey especially interesting for Arabic-speaking patients.

Moreover, concerning cost efficiency, Turkey provides better quality treatment when compared to its European and American counterparts. Some surgeries cost as much as 90 per cent less than other countries.

With favourable exchange rates for dollar-backed currencies such as those in the GCC, medical tourism hit all-time highs in August this year, especially from the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

“We expect over 850,000 international medical patients to arrive in Turkey by the end of 2018 and expect that number to increase again to reach over 1 million patients by the end of 2019,” said Salih Ozer, Attaché of Culture and Information from Turkey to the UAE. - TradeArabia News Service