Competition in Medical Tourism and Consumer Spending: Evidence from Turkey’s Growing Healthcare Market

Ilhan Sag (), Ferhat D. Zengul and Robert Weech-Maldonado
Additional contact information
Ilhan Sag: Medical Tourism Department, Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Turkish Ministry of Health, 16140 Nilüfer-Bursa, Türkiye
Ferhat D. Zengul: Department of Health Services Administration, School of Health Professions (SHP), University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), 1716 9th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
Robert Weech-Maldonado: Department of Health Services Administration, School of Health Professions (SHP), University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), 1716 9th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA

Tourism and Hospitality, 2025, vol. 6, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: As competition intensifies in the global medical tourism industry, countries are increasingly seeking effective marketing strategies to enhance their market share. Developing such strategies requires a comprehensive understanding of the expenditure patterns of medical tourists, particularly in emerging destinations with limited historical involvement in medical tourism. This study aims to examine the expenditure characteristics of medical tourists with respect to treatment type, gender, religion, and country of origin. Empirical data were collected from 288 medical tourists (response rate: 82%) receiving healthcare services in Turkey, an emerging hub for medical tourism. Cross-tabulation analyses and chi-square tests of independence revealed statistically significant differences in expenditures based on the aforementioned characteristics. The findings indicate that, on average, female, non-Muslim tourists from developed countries spent more than their male, Muslim, and developing-country counterparts. Additionally, aesthetic treatments accounted for the highest average expenditures among all treatment types. This study offers valuable insights into the expenditure behavior of medical tourists in Turkey, contributing to the broader understanding of competition in the medical tourism sector. These findings can inform the development of strategic roadmaps and targeted marketing approaches in emerging medical tourism markets.

Keywords: healthcare; medical tourism; competition; expenditure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/6/4/186/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/6/4/186/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jtourh:v:6:y:2025:i:4:p:186-:d:1753398

Access Statistics for this article

Tourism and Hospitality is currently edited by Mr. Philip Li

More articles in Tourism and Hospitality from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().