The Role of Health Tourism Revenues in Closing Turkish Hospitals’ Foreign-Exchange Gaps: A Systematic Literature Review of the Post-Pandemic Period 2022–2025

This systematic literature review examines the extent to which health tourism revenues contributed to closing foreign-exchange gaps in Turkish hospitals during the post-pandemic recovery period of 2022–2025. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, 12 studies and official reports published between January 2022 and June 2025 were synthesized. Findings reveal that health tourism revenue in accredited private and university hospitals increased from USD 842 million in 2022 to approximately USD 2.6–2.8 billion (annualized) in 2025. Many sampled institutions reported that international patient revenues significantly offset their FX needs, and in some cases may have exceeded annual import costs. Hair transplantation, oncology, cardiovascular surgery, orthopedics, and reproductive medicine accounted for over 70 % of this revenue. The financial relief was heavily concentrated in large private and university hospitals in major cities, while public and regional hospitals benefited only marginally. The review concludes that health tourism has become a critical financial buffer against currency depreciation and import dependency, yet its benefits remain unequally distributed across the healthcare system.