In the last five years, the number of foreign patients visiting Turkish hospitals has increased five fold to 583,000. Turkey has been a popular destination for foreigners who are looking to get plastic surgery or a heart operation. Foreign patients suffering from spinal diseases have started to prefer receiving treatment in Turkey, with their numbers exceeding the amount of Turkish patients. Turkey is one of the top 10 countries in receiving the most demand for health services from abroad. In 2014 alone, about 400,000 foreigners checked in to Turkish hospitals. With the number of foreign patients increasing, the Turkish health tourism sector generated $2.5 billion last year, and is expected to generate even more in the following years. Most of the foreigners who get treatment in Turkish hospitals are from mainly Arab countries, followed by the Balkans and Caucasia. The foreign patients with diseases such as scoliosis and spinal tumors stay in Turkey for extended periods of time since the treatment for these diseases include serious surgical operations that leave the patients bed-ridden for a while.
