The United Arab Emirates is becoming increasingly stronger as an international medical tourism center.
Medical experts believe that the UAE has every chance of becoming the best place in the world for quality healthcare in the coming years amid increasing government spending in this sector. Thanks to this, the country will become an important center of medical tourism at the international level.
The UAE and Oman are expected to achieve record growth in health care spending - between 2017 and 2022, projected rates are 9.6 and 9.1 percent, respectively, according to Alpen Capital.
The UAE already accepts significantly more tourists coming for medical purposes than before. They turn to a wide range of services - from rehabilitation and cosmetic procedures to serious operations.
“The growth of the UAE medical tourism industry was exceptional, it has turned the country into a medical tourism center for the region,” said Dr. Thumbey Moydin, founder and president of the Thumbay Group, “The country focuses on developing its healthcare infrastructure in terms of quality and quantity in accordance with its global goals for medical tourism. "
According to the medical tourism index in 2016, Dubai and Abu Dhabi took 16th and 25th places as the best world centers of medical tourism.
According to the Dubai Health Administration, medical tourism in 2016 brought the emirate more than $ US 381 million. The city met 326,649 tourists who arrived for medical purposes, which is 9.5% more than the previous year.
The most popular areas were orthopedics, dermatology and ophthalmology. In 2016, most tourists came from Asian countries - they accounted for 37 percent of the total. The second and third places went to guests from the Persian Gulf and Europe.
Dr. Howard Podolsky, director general of the Cambridge Medical Center and Rehabilitation, said the UAE is an ideal place for people looking for specialized medical care.
Podolski also added that although the UAE has already established itself as a developed international center for medical tourism, the future seems even more promising due to the new visa policy. Now highly qualified specialists, such as doctors and scientists, will be able to receive long-term visas. This will be an additional motive for the move of talented professionals.
