Medical Tourism in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: Strategies for Improvement

Year 2022, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 1 - 18, 30.07.2022

Oritsetimeyin Arueyingho , Matina Ghasemı Tülin Bodamyalı

https://doi.org/10.31822/jomat.2022-7-1-1

Cited By: 2

Abstract

“Right to health” is a fundamental human right and it is protected by international laws, also it turns over to states in three areas. Quality health care, affordability and the availability of necessary facilities and equipment’s form part of the reasons why individuals in need of these services migrate to countries that fortunately have upgraded facilities ready to serve the needs of patients worldwide. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of health practitioners, tourist agents (travel agents) and hotel managers, to determine if they are aware of the present condition of medical tourism in North Cyprus, and to discover the most sought-after procedure in the country. Thereafter the status of the most sought-after procedure was analyzed and strategies for improving this sub-sector alongside medical tourism were proposed. The study aims to provide insight for stakeholders, administrators and public officials in designing their strategies for improving this sub-sector of tourism, and to highlight the contribution of medical tourism to the development of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. The study is based on surveys given to participants selected by a snowball sampling and convenience sampling technique. Collected data were analyzed using basic coding methods of qualitative analysis. Results from the first part of the study revealed that the most sought-after medical procedures in TRNC were invitro fertilization treatments, and in the latter part of the study, the push-pull motivators and status quo of this sector were determined.

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Keywords

Medical tourism, Northern Cyprus, Quality Health care, Medical Tourism in Northern Cyprus, TRNC Tourism, Fertility Tourism, Medical Tourism for In Vitro Fertilization

Supporting Institution

Girne American University

Thanks

I wish to thank all these people whose assistance aided in the completion of this project. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Dr. Matina Ghasemi who against all odds took her time to teach and correct me during the course of this work. The distance was not a barrier and she consistently supported me from the beginning of this work up until its completion. I sincerely appreciate my supervisor, Professor Tulin Bodamyali who has been an amazing source of inspiration and spring of knowledge. To Professor Turay Yardimci, Dr. Anmar AL-TAIE, and my colleagues at the Faculty of Pharmacy, I give my love.

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