1.3mn medical tourists in Dubai by 2021
Dubai Health Experience (DXH), an initiative by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), aims to build strategic partnerships with the private sector and strengthen its position as a global destination for medical tourism, reveals Linda Abdulla, Head-Medical To
QWhat is the outlook of the Dubai Government in pursuing inbound medical tourism?
A five-year health strategy aiming at helping Dubai become a regional medical hub was launched by Dubai’s ruler His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in January 2016. One of the initiatives under the health strategy is to develop the medical tourism sector.
Through the Dubai Health Experience program (DXH), the government aims to build strategic partnerships with the private sector and strengthen its position as a global destination of medical tourism in the coming period. DHA has projected an influx of nearly 1.3 million medical tourists by 2021. The annual revenue from medical tourism is estimated to increase by 13 per cent every year in the next five years.
Q
offered by Dubai Health Authority and the government of Dubai to medical tourists?
The overall strategy of Dubai Health Authority caters to the emirate’s aspirations to be a global model in the field of health and as a city that has a happy and healthy society. Dubai’s healthcare sector is promoting wellness and improving efficiency in providing healthcare in collaboration with the private sector to create patientfriendly environment for medical tourists. A detailed Patient Rights and Patient Protection Plan along with visa procedures are also listed on the DXH website.
DXH group comprises of 25 leading private hospitals and clinics in Dubai. These members are carefully evaluated by the DHA to ensure quality, safety and service standards to inbound medical tourists. Dubai is also home for expert medical professionals, we have 35,000 health specialists from more than 110 nationalities working in 3000 healthcare facility that are able to cater to all medical tourists visiting Dubai from all around the world. Emirates Airline is our key strategic partner for this initiative. This partnership will play an important role is bringing medical tourists to the emirate.
QDo you have a special visa plan? If so, please give details.
In addition to the tourist visa that can be applied for by patients, Dubai offers 90-days medical tourism visa in cooperation with General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – this visa is renewable for an extra 30 days depending on the procedure and the patient’s case. However, these kinds of visas cannot be applied for by patients and can only be applied for through the healthcare facility. That way our immigration department is sure that they are granting a real patient and accompanying person legitimate visas.
QWhat are the different platforms which connect tourists to DXH?
Medical tourists can connect with us through our website www.dxh.ae, which provides details about the complete patient journey and treatment packages offered by member healthcare facilities. DXH has created a mobile App for easy accessibility which is available on android. In addition, tourists can also stay connected through DXH Connect pages on Facebook and Twitter.
QWhat strategy is used to engage participation of travel agents and tour operators in this process?
We have partnered with several government and private bodies such as hotels and travel operators and through these partnerships we aim to provide a remarkable experience for medical tourists. Through our website tourists can find comprehensive packages that have been customised by our travel partners that include hotel accommodation and other ground services like flight bookings, etc. to enhance the medical tourism experience.
QWhich special countries/ regions are you targeting for this segment?
Our strategy is to focus mainly on attracting medical tourists from the GCC, followed by focusing on the Asian market and African markets. The United Kingdom is also an important market for us as well as Africa, including Nigeria and Angola.