AN EXAMINATION OF EXPATRIATES’ AWARENESS OF HEALTH TOURISM IN TURKEY

Aim: To determine the awareness levels of Turkish citizens (expatriates) living in Europe regarding health tourism in Turkey, and whether this awareness varies according to demographic variables.Methods: In this study, the survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was employed. While the population of the research consists of Turkish citizens living in Europe (expatriates), the sample comprises 498 participants who fully completed the online survey form. The 17-item “Health Tourism Awareness Scale” developed by Yaba (2022) was used as the data collection tool. The analysis of the obtained data was performed using the SPSS 22.0 statistical software package.Results: In the context of educational status, it was determined that the awareness and positive perceptions of expatriates with basic and secondary education levels were higher than those of higher education graduates. Taking the region of residence into consideration, it was found that expatriates residing in Northern Europe have a higher general awareness and image perception regarding health tourism compared to those living in Western and Southern Europe. Additionally, it was understood that the awareness and perceptions of the participants whose hometowns in Turkey are in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions are higher, especially compared to those from the Marmara and Black Sea regions. Conclusion: When the sub-dimensions of the scale were examined, it was determined that the perception of "institutional competence" had the lowest average, while the "effects of health tourism" dimension had the highest average. As a result, it is emphasized that Turkey's potential in the field of health tourism is largely known by expatriates; however, in order to fully utilize this potential, there is a need for target-audience-oriented special promotion and communication strategies that will address institutional trust deficiencies and take demographic differences such as region and gender into account.