Factors affecting country selection in health tourism: The case of Turkey as a host country

Health tourism refers to individuals traveling to other countries beyond their national borders to receive health services. Turkey has come to the forefront in the field of health tourism in recent years and has managed to attract tourists in the international arena in various treatment services. In this study, the socio-economic characteristics of tourists who prefer Turkey for health tourism and their countries of residence/citizenship are estimated with the Logit model and Probit model using the data of the Departing Visitors Survey conducted by TurkStat for the years 2019-2023. The differences between tourists who come to Turkey for sightseeing, entertainment, sportive and cultural activities, shopping, etc. and tourists who come to Turkey to purchase health services are also revealed with the Multinomial Logit Model. The most important findings of the study are that tourists from European countries (except Germany and Bulgaria), USA and Canada, Azerbaijan, Iraq, African countries are more likely to come to Turkey for health tourism than tourists from other countries, while tourists from Russia and Ukraine are more likely to come to Turkey for sightseeing, entertainment, sportive and cultural activities, shopping etc. Male tourists are more likely to visit Turkey for health tourism while female tourists are more likely to visit Turkey for sightseeing, entertainment, sportive and cultural activities, shopping, etc. In addition, Turkish citizens residing abroad are more likely to prefer other countries for both health tourism and tourism activities such as sightseeing, entertainment, sportive and cultural activities, shopping, etc. than foreign tourists. However, female Turkish citizens residing abroad are more likely to prefer Turkey for health tourism and other countries for tourism activities such as sightseeing, entertainment, sportive and cultural activities, shopping, etc. Considering the findings of this study, sectoral and national policies to develop health tourism should be prioritized.