Representatives of the Aegean Region tourism sector stated that the sea, sand, and sun-focused tourism model has reached its maturity, announcing that they will focus on health and wellness tourism as a new growth area. Speaking at the panel titled "Ministry of Health New Wellness Regulation and New Opportunities in the Accommodation Sector" held in İzmir, sector representatives stated that the new regulation would create significant opportunities, especially for the Aegean Region.

The panel, organized in cooperation with the İzmir Health Tourism Association (İZSATU), Alanya Health Tourism Association (ALSTUD), TÜRSAB İzmir BTK, and the Aegean Touristic Enterprises and Accommodation Association (ETİK), discussed the future of health tourism and the contributions the new regulation will provide to the sector.

Health tourism now goes beyond treatment

İZSATU President Bülent Cinel, who delivered the opening speech of the panel, pointed out that the scope of health tourism has changed significantly in recent years.

“The world no longer travels for surgery, treatment, or operations. People now travel to live longer, age gracefully, for stress management, metabolic health, and mental well-being,” said Cinel, emphasizing that health tourism has become a much broader concept today.

ALSTUD Vice President Ahmet Girgin, on the other hand, touched upon the incentives that the new regulation will provide to the accommodation sector, stating that hotels can benefit from support in many areas such as international fair promotions, employment of foreign language-speaking staff, digital marketing, and online sales platforms.

İZSATU Board Member Yasemin Demirtaş also stated that travel agencies now sell experiences, not just holidays, adding, “10 years from now, we will be marketing healthy living.”

New opportunity for the Aegean Region

Mehmet İşler, President of ETİK and Vice President of TÜROFED, stated that Turkish tourism has shown strong growth in recent years, but classic sea-sand-sun tourism alone will no longer be sufficient.

“As we all know, Turkish tourism has grown with tremendous figures and double digits since 2002. In the last five years, it has risen from eighth to fourth place globally. We reached this point by diversifying tourism. We utilized sea, sand, and sun, but it has reached saturation. We must create a different avenue for growth. Because the target for 2030 is 100 million tourists and 100 billion dollars in revenue,” said İşler, stating that health tourism will play an important role in achieving this goal.

İşler stated that the New Wellness Regulation will fill a significant gap for the sector, adding that cooperation between healthcare institutions and accommodation facilities will gain a more solid legal basis.

İzmir's advantages stand out

İşler stated that İzmir, in particular, has significant advantages for healthy living and "longevity" tourism with its climate, gastronomy, lifestyle, and natural structure.

“İzmir is a very important center for health tourism. I have no doubt that İzmir, which has always been the city of firsts and pioneers in Turkey, will also lead in this field. It is evident that as the tourism sector, by working hand in hand for health tourism, we will increase the number of tourists in our city. There are many excellent and accumulated minds in this city. Together with them, we will surpass the 2.5 million tourist anchor that seems to be İzmir's destiny,” he said.

Sector views should be reflected in regulations

At the end of his speech, İşler emphasized the importance of consulting the tourism sector during the preparation of new regulations, stating, “As tourism professionals, we are hand in hand with health tourism. There are benefits to drafting some regulations in consultation with us, the tourism professionals. Otherwise, we can become victims of these regulations.”

The panel concluded after participants' questions were answered.

Image: © ETİK