Health Tourism Sector worth $35 billion is preparing to take part in EMITT

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Preparations to open its door for the 25th time are in full swing for EMITT, the East Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Exhibition that hosts thousands of tourists who would like to take advantage of the new and exciting travel opportunities offered by international companies and nearly 45,000 domestic and international sector professionals.
25th EMITT, which will be held in TÜYAP Istanbul on February 10-13, 2021 will feature health tourism professionals for the first time in its history. Diversifying the tourism product & partnership options it provides to international buyers and visitors, EMITT aims to serve as a springboard to going global for the health tourism sector of Turkey.
1 in Every 12 Medical Tourists Received Treatment in Antalya
Following the renewal of the health infrastructure with the construction of city hospitals, Turkey is gradually becoming the new global center for healthcare tourism for American, European, and Middle Eastern tourists. To make faster progress in this area and increase the share of Turkey in the global market, it is important to develop professional partnerships speedily.
Stating that in the first six months of 2019, more than 350.000 and a total of 880,000 tourists visited Turkey for health purposes, EMITT Exhibition Director Hacer Aydın said: “Turkey’s aim to become a global health tourism center has long been on the agenda and progressing as scheduled with important investments as part of the national agenda. In recent years, considering Europe’s aging health infrastructure, Turkey is becoming a major health tourism destination in the world, especially for the Middle East, and Europe.
Underlining that Antalya has the potential to rank first in this regard, Aydın said: “According to data received from Antalya Provincial Health, Turkey’s tourism capital, Antalya hosted 74,138 health-oriented tourists.” She further added that with a professional approach, and through a global platform that offers the right partnership options, the investments can provide quick returns. Stating that the best platform to respond to this need is EMITT, Aydın said that they will start hosting health tourism professionals in the 25th anniversary of the exhibition:
“World Health Organization has appreciated Turkey for its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This success enabled the health care sector to revise its health targets as well as driving a rise in expectations. We wanted to contribute to this process by including health tourism professionals in EMITT to enable our industry professionals to increase their market shares more quickly, to rapidly drive added-value out of the investments in this field, and to meet expectations in the short and medium-term. “
Reminding that following the pandemic period, Turkey has opened its doors to the patients from 31 countries thanks to its healthcare sector, it is particularly important for Turkey to further improve its national brand value in every respect.

EMITT isPreparing to Marks Quarter Century Milestone
Saying that EMITT’s position in the global arena and Turkey’s strengths in the tourism sector will be improved with the participation of new exhibitors, Aydın stated: “Participation of health professionals to the EMITT in its 25th edition will be a win-win for everyone. With this high energy and enthusiasm, we continue to work in full swing for EMITT, which will celebrate its quarter-century milestone on February 10-13, 2021.
Aydın: “Tourism could lose $24.5 Billion”
Saying that this season is like no other due to the pandemic, Aydın further added that the decisions on lifting travel restrictions by Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom, which are among the countries that send the highest numbers of tourists to Turkey in 2019, has seen some recovery.
In an interview she gave in April 2020, Aydın stated that the loss of the sector could exceed $16 billion due to the pandemic and tourism sector, which generated $34.5 billion in tourism revenues in 2019, could lose $24.5 billion and regarding the forecast announced by TÜRSAB (Association of Turkish Travel Agencies), for tourism revenues to reach $10-12 billion TÜRSAB, the year-end loss may hit $24.5 billion.
In May 2020, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced that 100 to 120 million-strong workforces in the tourism sector worldwide is at risk and the global tourism market may shrink as much as 80%. The global tourism market has not experienced such a crisis since 1950. However, according to UNWTO estimates, the Middle East will recover faster and sooner than other parts of the world. The tourism sector in the region including Turkey was expected to see 40% recovery by end-September, 70% by year-end. Looking at today’s figures, we can say that these estimates prove to be correct for Turkey.
Health Tourism expenditure is 2.5 Times Higher than the Average
Underlining that health tourism will make a significant contribution especially in terms of inflow of foreign currency, Aydın reminded that according to TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) data, the share of health tourism expenditures in 2019 was $1 billion 65 million equivalent to 3.09% of the total tourism income:
In the previous year, per capital health expenditures were over $1200. While the average tourism expenditure per tourist was recorded at $666, we see that the health tourism income is almost twice that of tourism expenditure. We can significantly contribute to our country’s employment rate with significant economic growth spurt, sustainable growth, and revenues in the future. “
EMITT 2020 hosted more than 44.000 Visitors & Nearly 1000 Exhibitors
At the 24th EMITT was held under the corporate sponsorship of T.R. Ministry of Culture and Tourism, T.R. Governorship of İstanbul, İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and Turkish Airlines together with the support of KOSGEB and business partnership of Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED) and Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TTYD) between January 30 –2 February at TÜYAP Fair, Convention, and Congress Center one of the top four tourism exhibitions in the world, 24th EMITT Tourism Exhibition hosted more than 44 thousand visitors and around 1000 exhibitors from 103 countries. As well as bringing together 200 hosted buyers from 20 countries with exhibitors and visitors, the exhibition also hosted 4.476 appointed business meetings.

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• EMITT will be held from 12-15 April this year

• EMITT 2022 will open on February 9

• EMITT re-scheduled its dates to February 9-12, 2022

• EMITT postponed to 2022

• EMITT tourism exhibition hosted 44.321 visitors this year