In response to a significant drop in inbound figures and to help the government promote medical tourism, state owned Turkish Airlines is offering 50% discount on tickets to medical tourists.
The airline needs proof that the trip is for medical or healthcare and requires the passport, the electronic air ticket, and entry registration details of the hospital or clinic in Turkey where they are going to be treated. So the rebate is retrospective and only available after the air passenger has paid the full ticket price, the International Medical Travel Journal reported.
Turkey has become popular for healthcare and spa tourism in recent years thanks to government-led aggressive promotion, advertising and investment.
The number of foreign visitors to Turkey fell in the first half of the year while the outlook for the rest of 2015 looks gloomy, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. With escalating violence within and around the country and rising economic problems in Russia, Turkey’s tourism and medical tourism facilities have warned of worse numbers in 2016.
Numbers have fallen from the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and Norway, with Russian numbers down 30%.
With the growing tensions between Ankara and Kremlin and Iran’s gradual reemergence onto the tourism stage coupled with Tehran’s special attention to health tourism, Turkey has begun to keep tabs on Iran to ensure it stays ahead of the game.
