06.06.2022 Ankara
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and with the participation of Trade Minister Mehmet Muş 'Health Service Export Summit New Supports and Heal in Turkey Portal Promotion Meeting' aimed at increasing exports in health services 'Health Service Export 5.0 Supports' were announced.
The meeting held at the
Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Twin Towers building
was attended by TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu and Minister Muş, as well as
Deputy Minister of Trade Volkan Ağar, Service Exporters Association and THY
Chairman Ahmet Bolat, TOBB International Health Tourism Council President Dr.
Özgür Öztan and many sector representatives.
TOBB President M. Rifat
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that the health tourism sector is one of the areas which
will present opportunities for Turkey with the pandemic left behind, “Our
health services have come to a point that stands out and is recognized
worldwide with both its scope and quality. With our geographical location,
natural resources and well-trained human capital, we have shown that we have
the quality to play global leadership in every field of health tourism.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu,
reminding that they have established the International Health Tourism Council in
the field of health tourism, which he argues is important for Turkey, said, “In
our Council, our most competent organizations specialized in many branches from
hair transplantation to physical therapy, from plastic surgery to organ
transplantation are represented. On the other hand, there are hospitals and
clinics such as eye, dental, patient and elderly care. In this sense, our
Sector Council aims to be the flagship of our country's health tourism sector
and to promote our country's flag in the best way in the world.” Hisarcıklıoğlu
noted that the International Health Tourism Council is working intensively to
determine the road map in the branding process of health tourism with a broad
perspective, and that the summit introduction meeting brought together the
sector representatives as part of this goal.
Regarding the content
of the package, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “This package is the clearest indication
that the opinions and suggestions of the private sector are listened to by emphasizing
consultation. We see that many innovations from branding to employment
supports, from health insurance to consumer-oriented supports such as product
placement and advertising are included in this package.”
- Minister of Trade Muş
Trade Minister Mehmet
Muş announced the 'Health Service Export 5.0 Supports' aiming to increase
exports in health services. Minister of Trade Mehmet Muş stated that the “Heal
in Turkey” portal, which was established to increase health service exports,
will eliminate the lack of promotion in this field and said, “I believe that
our health service export revenues will reach $ 5 billion in a short time with
the work of valuable representatives of the sector and the effect of our new
support mechanisms, and we will reach $ 10 billion in the medium term.”
Mehmet Muş, in his
speech at the program, noted that with the Presidential Decrees published on
April 20-21, the supports given in health service exports have gained a new
dimension and been expanded and enriched, and these supports have been interwoven
with the feedback and contributions of the representatives of the health
service export sector. Muş said that they aim to export a sustainable health
service with an innovative perspective in accordance with the needs and
purposes and that they can qualify the new supports they have designed in line
with this goal as “Health Service Export 5.0 Supports” under a single title.
- Supports
Stating that the first
support from the new support package listed under 6 headings is “complication
and travel health insurance support”, Muş said, “With this support, it has been
ensured that a person who visits our country to receive treatment is completely
insured from the loss of their suitcase to the emergency health service they
may need during their visit and the complication that may arise after the
treatment. Moreover, considering the importance of the insurance element, we
have determined the support rate as 70 percent, not 60 percent, so that there
will be affirmative action specific to this support item.”
Muş informed that the
second commitment is “employment support” to the health service sector and
said: “We believe that by enriching the services we offer in the form of a
package, it will allow the revenues obtained from service exports to be even
more value-added. For example, it is important for a foreign patient visiting
Ankara to extend their stay to Cappadocia or Bolu by extending their stay in addition
to medical treatment, to benefit from cultural and geothermal opportunities and
to share this positive experience with other potential patients in their
country. With this understanding, we have encouraged, the employment of
qualified personnel needed in a wide range of health service export value
chains, from guide to interpreter, from call center personnel to social media
and marketing specialists, from elderly and disabled care personnel to social
workers.”
- President of the
Service Exporters' Association Bolat
Ahmet Bolat, Chairman
of the Board of Directors of the Service Exporters' Association and THY, stated
that the service sector exported $ 58.1 billion in 2021 with an increase of 65
percent compared to the previous year and had a trade surplus of $ 26.5
billion, and said, “Our goal is to increase our exports by 2 times in 2025 and
realize exports of $ 110 billion.”
Stating that health
service export revenues, which are known to be much higher, were over 1 billion
dollars in 2021, Bolat said, “We are striving to reach our 2023 targets in
2022, especially with healthcare travel accelerated after the pandemic.”
Bolat stated that the
number of patients coming to Turkey is constantly increasing and rising to over
1.5 million, and said:
“Our sector, which is
among the top 10 in the world in healthcare service exports, offers the best
treatment opportunity to patients from all over the world in many different
fields from complex treatments such as cardiology, oncology and organ
transplantation to treatments such as aesthetics, dental, hair transplantation.
Our goal is to be among the top 3 in the world. We continue all our work in
line with this goal. It is also possible for us to increase the added value
created by the sector with the different products we will offer to the visitors
for therapeutic purposes and to make more profit by ensuring that the service
sectors overlap with each other.”
- TOBB Health Tourism
Council President Öztan
TOBB Health Tourism Council
President Öztan stated that the Health Tourism Council aims to make Turkey a
center of attraction in the field of international health tourism by revealing
the problems encountered in the field of health tourism in cooperation with the
institutions working in the sector, developing solution proposals and
presenting the relevant institutions, playing an important role in increasing
the share of patients and at the same time strengthening its mission of being
the flagship in the health tourism sector at the point of coordination with the
public.