Visa procedures for patients visiting the UAE seeking medical treatment, will be made easier. This forms part of an effort to strengthen medical tourism in the UAE.
The Director of Health Regulation and Dubai Medical Tourism Project, Dr. Layla Al Marzouqi said, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs has pledged to facilitate and make medical tourism visa procedures smoother to support and elevate medical tourism in Dubai.
According to Dubai Health Authority (DHA), total of 1.3million medical tourists are likely to visit Dubai by the year 2021.
In the year 2015, about 630,831 medical tourists visited 26 hospitals in Dubai. Out of these, 332,472 were from within UAE, while 298,359 came from abroad. A total of Dh.1004,930,535 in revenues were made from medical tourists abroad in 2015, and this number will increase by 13 percent for next five years.
According to a report by Dubai Statistic Centre, majority of tourists who visited Dubai for medical treatments last year were from Asian countries (43 percent), while 29 percent were from GCC, 15 percent from European countries, 7 percent from African countries and 5 percent from America.
Among these tourists who sought treatment in Dubai, majority were seeking treatment for osteoporosis, fertility, dermatology and plastic surgery.
The Dubai Health Experience (DXH) group was formed with 25 members comprising medical facilities in Dubai and other partners offering logistic services, who provide services to medical tourists.
The Medical tourism statistics have been compiled from 26 hospitals in Dubai.
