Dubai's medical tourism revenues hit Dh1 billion

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)Medical tourism revenues in Dubai hit Dh1 billion in the first half of 2015 and the number of incoming patients rose from 107000 in 2012 to 260000.

As the UAE moves away from oil revenues and focuses on education and healthcare Dubai Government is continuing to lay down the right infrastructure to support the future of medical tourism here.

"Wellness tourism is growing in popularity. People are looking to prevent illness and prolong life. Many of the private sector clinics across Dubai are encompassing this concept within their practice" Linda Abdullah Ali head of Medical Tourism Office at Dubai Health Authority (DHA) told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the 10th World Health Tourism Congress (WHTC) being held in Dubai on September 5-7.

Striving for "quality not quantity" Ali said Dubai's top incoming patient groups for medical tourism travel from neighbouring GCC countries as well as Asia and Africa. However to attract a wider scope of patients from the rest of the world quality assurance is the biggest draw. "We are not focusing on the commercial aspect of medical tourism. We are speaking the language of quality. That is how we hope to attract ... patients from overseas. What we are pushing forward is performance management and continuous quality improvement."

Working closely with the Ministry of Health she said the aim is to attract patients with high quality services not low prices.

"We already have the highest percentage of international accredited hospitals in the region. The image of quality is what we are portraying to the world."

And projections for medical tourism are already on track.With the aim to attract more than half-a-million medical tourism patients by 2020 revenues are estimated to hit Dh2.6 billion dirhams - a 20 per cent increase on the expected final figures for all four quarters of 2015.

"In 2012 the number of medical tourists in Dubai stood at 107000 and revenues reached Dh652700 million. That has already risen to 260000 patients and Dh1 billion respectively so far this year. The trend is positive and with the arrival of the Expo 2020 tourist visits will further rise."

So what's new?

Next month Ali said the DHA is launching the 'Be Beautiful in Dubai' campaign which will focus on aesthetic surgeries dental procedures and various treatments associated with beauty.

"Dubai is a beautiful city; that's what inspired the campaign. We have at least seven or eight healthcare facilities on board for this campaign. At the moment it is just private sector facilities but the DHA's door is always open for everybody whether medical tourists or residents." Shaikh Theyab bin Khalifa Al Nahyan inaugurated the WHTC 2015 on Sunday. During his opening speech he paid tribute to the 45 Emirati servicemen killed in action in Yemen on Friday.

Following a minute's silence Al Nahyan touched on the importance of the Expo 2020 in strengthening the country's position in the medical tourism field.

"Expo 2020 will see a huge growth in tourism and we need to make the most of that influx by offering the best in practice when it comes to healthcare tourism."

Since 2007 the healthcare services market in the GCC has expanded at an annual rate of 16.7 per cent reaching around $34 billion in 2012. It is projected to grow at an annual rate of 12 per cent to $69.4 billion by 2018.

Kelly Clarke