Hair transplant industry booms in Turkey, drawing new types of tourists

Hair transplant industry has boomed in Turkey, creating a new way to draw more tourists to the country. More than 15,000 people now flock to Turkey from all over the world for hair transplants, an industry that is now worth close to $250 million annually, according to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery.

In Istanbul, there are now about 250 clinics or private practices that compete to cover bald pates or to give mustaches to men who seek a certain masculine image.

The reason that people choose Turkey for hair transplant is high quality and relatively low cost of the surgery, some hair transplant centers based in Istanbul suggest. Turkey has also achieved a high level of technological advancement in the field, according to Feyman Duygu Oktar, the founder of a hair transplant center in Ankara.

Compared to the US or the UK, where the cost runs as high as $25,000, about 5,000 Turkish liras (around $1,900) is considered relatively low by patients.

Oktar also said most customers come from Europe and the Middle East. However, Saudi Arabia takes the lead due to cultural appropriateness, he suggested.

"Another advantage is Turkey's location, only a 2-3 hour flight from major cities in Europe and the Middle East, and its historical and cultural attraction," Oktar said.

According to CBC News, a managing physician at a hair transplant center says the patients who come to Turkey for the surgery in particular bring in nearly half a billion dollars a year, adding to the country's $7-billion medical tourism industry.

Turks spent about $1,000 per capita on healthcare in 2014, up from about $300 in 2004.