Staff Report
Dubai, UAE
The emirate of Dubai recorded 278.62 percent jump in medical tourism with Dh992 million (US$270.3 million) spending by 674,000 medical tourists recorded in 2022, up from Dh262 million (US$71.38 million) in 2021, according to Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the healthcare regulatory body of Government of Dubai.
According to the Medical Tourism Index, Dubai ranks No. 1 in the Middle East and North Africa and No. 6 in the world for medical tourism. It also ranks No.5 globally on the sub-index of Quality of Facilities and Services, DHA said in a statement.
DHA said that 39 per cent of the medical tourists who came to the city were from Asian countries, 22 per cent from Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States and 21 per cent from Arab and GCC countries. They sought treatment mostly in the fields of orthopedics, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, fertility treatments, hospitalisation and recovery.
“Dubai saw remarkable growth in medical tourism in 2022 with 674,000 medical tourists spending Dh992 million in the year, an increase of Dh262 million from 2021,” the statement said.
Dubai is seeing a continuous growth in its healthcare sector as it licensed a total of 143 health facilities in the first quarter of 2023, bringing the total number of health facilities in Dubai to 4,609- an increase of 11.5 percent compared to the first quarter of last year.
The latest data from DHA shows that the Emirate is currently home to 52 hospitals, 77 specialised clinics, 58 one-day surgery centers, 82 dental clinics, 122 clinics, 1,325 pharmacies, 414 optics centers, 160 nursing homes and 57 alternative medicine centers.
Dr. Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of the DHA’s Health Regulation Sector, said the growth in health facilities reflects the confidence of global investors in the growth prospects and high standards of the emirate’s healthcare sector.
These facilities provide care across a range of medical specialties and sub-specialties ranging from advanced diagnostic procedures, specialized treatments, and surgical procedures.
DHA’s Health Regulation Sector received 6,500 applications for health professional licenses to practice in the city in the first three months of the year. Dubai currently has 56,239 licensed healthcare professionals.
The healthcare authority expected that this number will grow by 10 to 15 per cent in 2023.
“The dynamism of the sector reflects the growing competitiveness of Dubai’s health sector, the quality of healthcare infrastructure and legislation as well as the visionary strategy of the emirate’s leadership and its ability to overcome the impact of global challenges,” said Dr. Marwan Al Mulla.
Dubai’s sustained focus on developing its medical infrastructure and attracting large-scale investments into the sector, combined with its superior quality benchmarks and world-class regulations, has enabled it to develop a healthcare system that ranks among the best in the globe.
The growth in the number of healthcare facilities reflects Dubai’s emergence as a global healthcare destination and a magnet for investment in the sector.
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