Dubai welcomes 674,000 medical tourists in 2022

Dubai welcomes 674,000 medical tourists in 2022

Dubai registered remarkable growth in medical tourism in 2022 with 674,000 medical tourists spending $270m (Dhs992m) in the year, an increase of Dhs262m compared to a year earlier. A report by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) shows 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. Awadh Seghayer Al Ketbi, director general of the DHA said the city’s ability to provide high-quality patient-centred medical care has accelerated its growth as an Arab, regional and international healthcare destination. “Dubai’s strategic location, safety, exceptional infrastructure and world-leading amenities add to the factors that have raised its status as a medical tourism hub,” he said. The three specialities that saw the highest number of medical tourists were dermatology (31 per cent), dentistry (24 per cent) and gynaecology (18 per cent). Medical tourists from Asia, Europe and Africa, including from GCC and Arab countries visited the emirate for treatment in the fields of orthopaedics, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, fertility treatments, hospitalisation and recovery. Al Ketbi further said Dubai’s vision to provide a world-class healthcare model and an