Dental tourism market within the scope of health tourism: Alanya example

Dental tourism is an area where Alanya can have a strategic competitive advantage among sustainable tourism types. The aim of this study is a descriptive research conducted to determine the characteristics of Alanya's dental tourism potential consumer profile existing practices target market characteristics. In the list obtained from the Ministry of Health's web page on health tourism, it is seen that 40 private clinics operate in Alanya. A questionnaire was sent to all of these clinics with the complete census method and 20 clinics participated in the survey. As a result of the research, it was revealed that there is a structuring in the field of dental tourism in Alanya and the clinics are oriented towards health tourism. In order to maintain the success achieved in the field of dental tourism, it is recommended to focus on quality and certification rather than price competition. Thus, Alanya is on its way to having an important place within the scope of health tourism as a dental tourism area. Keywords: Health tourism, dental tourism, Alanya