Lviv Medical Tourism Development: Turkey Experience & Medical Hub Strategy Roundtable

On March 13, 2026, a strategic roundtable titled “How a Medical Hub Works: Turkey’s Experience and Opportunities for Lviv” took place in the large session hall of the Lviv City Council.

The event was initiated by the Lviv Medical Business Cluster in partnership with the International Medical Tourism Center MedGlob UA, with the support of the city.

The Role of the City in Developing Medical Tourism

Opening remarks were delivered by representatives of the city council departments — “Economy. Lviv” and the Entrepreneurship Support Center. In their speeches, they emphasized that the development of the healthcare sector is an important component of the city’s economic growth and opens up new opportunities for international cooperation.

Lviv’s Potential as a Medical Hub

During the event, experts presented a vision for developing Lviv as a medical hub in Eastern Europe and shared practical cases and international experience.

• Olesia Khaletska, Executive Director of the Cluster, outlined the strategic prerequisites for establishing such a hub in Lviv.
• Svitlana Merzlova presented the development of medical tourism in Ukraine and highlighted the importance of international partnerships.
• Particular attention was given to Turkey’s experience. Oksana Balakbashi and Veysel Gerdan presented an effective model for organizing medical tourism, based on strong coordination between the state, business, and clinics.
• Iryna Potashnyk shared practical experience from Ukrainian clinics in the field of inbound medical tourism.
• At the same time, Shenaz Azkeroglu noted that Turkey is currently among the top three global leaders in medical tourism, following Thailand and India.

Strategic Discussion: Sector Synergy

The discussion brought together leading experts from different sectors:

• Andrii Matseliukh — Executive Director of the Lviv Tourism Development Association

• Professor Andrii Bazylevych — President of SFULT and Head of Department at Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University

• Olena Lukachuk — Associate Professor at Lviv Polytechnic National University

• Marichka Baysa — Communications Advisor at the Ministry of Health of Canada

Participants discussed how to combine the potential of healthcare, tourism, education, and innovation to create a competitive medical tourism ecosystem in Lviv.

Signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation

An important milestone of the event was the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Lviv Medical Business Cluster and the International Medical Tourism Center MedGlob UA.

This document lays the foundation for developing international partnerships, joint initiatives, and a systematic approach to medical tourism.

Bringing the Market Together

The event gathered around 50 participants, mostly executives and owners of private medical centers and clinics. It became an important platform for networking, knowledge exchange, and building new partnerships.

Conclusions

The key outcome of the roundtable was a shared understanding that Lviv has all the prerequisites to become an international medical hub. At the same time, realizing this potential requires systematic cooperation between business, local authorities, educational institutions, and international partners.

Such synergy can not only increase the city’s competitiveness but also create a new driver of economic growth, opening Ukrainian clinics to the global medical services market.