Psoriasis treatment via doctor fishes as part of health tourism: A case study of Kangal Fish Spring, Turkey

Spa (thermal) tourism is gaining increasing importance in health tourism. Turkey has numerous thermal sources that have been used to cure a number of common diseases. Among these thermal sources, Kangal Fish Spring has a unique nature with its doctor fish known to cure psoriasis. To date, a number of studies analyzed Kangal Fish Spring as a thermal source with its water and fish characteristics but no research to the authors’ knowledge has been conducted to analyze the spring's demand and destination characteristics. In Turkey, research about thermal health centers and their visitors, is fairly limited from a tourism experience point of view. The current paper reports a case study of psoriasis treatment by doctor fish in Kangal Fish Spring as part of health tourism in Turkey. The paper describes Kangal Fish Spring as a health tourism destination and investigates socio-economic and visitor characteristics of the people visiting Kangal Fish Spring. As part of the study, 104 visitors to the destination were surveyed and visitor perceptions about the destination and visitor characteristics were reported. The paper concludes with a discussion about the future of the destination and health tourism in Turkey.