The analysis of health tourism potential before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Afyonkarahisar province

Recently, the concept of health, which has gained importance as a result of intense workload, stress, tension and various diseases resulting from the direct or indirect effects of globalization, drives people to seek health destinations in different countries where they can obtain health services with the highest quality at the most affordable cost.Standing out in medical tourism, which is one of the types of health tourism, with its affordable prices, use of advanced technology in health, presence of specialist physicians, short waiting times, geographical location, transportation alternatives, various tourism opportunities, high tourist potential, more natural geothermal resources, Turkey also has a good potential in thermal tourism. Turkey, which has an important place in Europe and the world in terms of its thermal resources rich in quantity and minerals, has a city, in the Aegean Region, with the most thermal resources is Afyonkarahisar. The aim of this research is to reveal the health tourism potential of Afyonkarahisar province before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and to reveal the city's strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities in the field of health tourism. In this research, the data obtained using the semi-structured interview form was first coded, then transformed into categories and themes. Finally, it was interpreted with the descriptive analysis method. Then, a SWOT analysis was conducted and the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of health tourism in the city were determined. As a result of the analysis, it is understood that the international recognition of Afyonkarahisar province is not at sufficient level, despite its geographical location, climate, transportation, thermal resources, various tourism alternatives, accommodation facilities with high standard, obtaining an advantage of being gastronomy city, and international festivals or tournaments organized in the province. In addition, it is observed that health tourism, which came to a halt in the city during the Covid-19 pandemic process, has not yet reached its pre-pandemic state due to the influence of various factors such as earthquakes, war and inflation increase that emerged after the pandemic.