Economic potential and tax regulations of health tourism in Turkey

It is a fact that tourism is a crucial sector thanks to its contribution in domestic income, inflow of receipts, employment and balance of payment. Internationally, tourism can also influence welfare level of countries positively. Due to its impacts on increments on foreign currency reserves, tourism is called as smokeless industry. Nowadays, while tourism refers to sea, sun and beach; the new opportunities, created by technological developments, reveal new alternative types of tourisms. "Health tourism" takes the lead of this alternative tourism types. In recent years, health tourism becomes a vital service sector for all countries. In this study, by the help of SWOT analysis, health tourism's economical potentials, tax regulations and promotions will be compared for Turkey and other countries in terms of pros and cons, opportunities and threats. Keywords: Health Tourism, SWOT Analysis, Tax Regulations