Turkey will showcase its medical travel offerings at the Second Annual Medical Tourism in Turkey Conference in Chicago on March 12-13, as the country builds on its success in the leisure market as one of the world's top - and fastest growing - leisure travel destinations.

Organized by the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and other Turkish organizations, the conference aims to introduced Turkey as a healthcare partner and medical tourism destination under the theme, "Model Partnership in Healthcare: United Stated and Turkey."

Indeed, the tourism ministry is positioning medical travel as a growth niche for Turkey, primarily from Europe and the Middle East, but also from the U.S., as Turkey gains in popularity among American travelers, Niham Bekar, director of the Turkish Culture & Tourist Office in New York, told Travel Market Report at a European Travel Commission conference last week.

Turkish Airlines, which offers promotional fares for medical travelers from the U.S., is the main sponsor of the event, which will bring together expert panelists, government and health industry representatives from Turkey and the U.S.

One medical travel expert slated to speak at the event is Josef Woodman, the author of medical travel guidebook "Patients Beyond Borders." He noted that Turkey has developed a robust tourism industry in the past 30 years and now seeks to extend its tradition of warmth and hospitality to medical travelers, which he said, "is not a stretch."

Woodman writes that the country is projected to serve 1 million foreign patients in 2015 generating about $8 billion.

The conference will serve as the official North American launch of the "Patients Beyond Borders: Turkey Edition."

Said Woodman: "Turkey now has 36 JCI-accredited hospitals, more than any other country in the world. Turkey's superior healthcare (www.healthinturkey.org) infrastructure, relatively short flying times, and breathtaking beauty are attracting an estimated 200,000 medical tourists each year from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East."

The JCI is the Joint Commission International, the international accreditation arm of the Joint Commission, which accredits health care institutions in the United States.

In the Turkey Edition of the guide, Woodman wrote that health groups in Turkey's three largest cities, Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, offer "one-stop" services to foreign patients attracted to the country because of its high standards of care, lower prices and lack of waiting times for treatments, among other reasons -- which depend on the country of origination.

Turkish hospitals, said Woodman, have developed relationships with some of the top U.S. healthcare brands, including Harvard Medical International, Johns Hopkins International Medicine, the Mayo Clinic, the Methodist Hospital in Houston and some of New York's major medical institutions: Sloan-Kettering, New York Presbyterian, and Cornell.

Woodman noted that Turkey's JCI-accredited hospitals offer the full range of treatments though a network of health care facilities employing about 20,000 healthcare professionals, including 3,000-plus physicians, many Western-trained and fluent in English.

The Middle East, the Netherlands, Germany (with a large ethnic Turk population), France, Belgium, the U.K, Albania, Georgia and Azerbaijan are among Turkey's largest source markets for medical travel, according to Woodman's book.

"Patients Beyond Borders" is published Healthy Traveler Media, Chapel Hill, NC; visit www.patientsbeyondborders.com.

For more information about the 2nd Annual Medical Tourism in Turkey Conference, visit medicaltourisminturkey.org or contact the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce & Industry - Midwest, 333 North Michigan Ave., Suite 932, Chicago, IL 60601; phone (312) 276-5171, e-mail: info@taccimidwest.org, or visit www.tacci-midwest.org.