UAE presently ranked 16th as a preferred destination for Medical Tourism, has the potential to

be in top five says expert. Ms. Renee Marie-Stephano President of Medical Tourism Association

said there may be new demand trends for treatments and destinations in medical travel.

However there are untapped niche target market opportunities within medical tourism she says.

The first International medical Tourism conference was organized by Thumbay Hospital (part of

Thumbay Group and GMC hospital) in Dubai on 21 Nov 2014. The new hospital is due to open

in December 2014 / January 2015.

The theme of the conference was Initiatives and Updates on International Medical Tourism in

UAE. The event was attended by over 150 delegates including medical tourism experts,

doctors, facilitators and insurance agencies.

Founder President of Thumbay Group Mr. Thumbay Moideen was the Chief Guest on the

occasion. He awarded Special Awards of Honor and Recognition to Ms. Renee Marie Stephano,

President Medical Tourism Association USA, Dr. Uma Nambiar, Advisor to Ministry of Health

Djibouti, Mr. Ajmal Habeeb, Managing Director Unity Hospitals India, Dr. Ibrahim Abu Gharbieh,

MD Salamatek Healthcare Management UAE and Dr. Benazir Ameer Ali, Director International

Medical and Health Tourism Department Thumbay Hospital for their valuable contributions to

Medical Tourism. Mr. Akbar Moideen Thumbay Director Operations Healthcare Division and Dr.

Manvir Singh Walia Administrative Director Healthcare Division of Thumbay Group were present

on the occasion.

Citing exhaustively from the findings of a survey conducted by MTA, Ms. Renee said, Nearly

80% of demand for medical travel is driven by cost savings, Cosmetic surgery leads all other

treatments, representing 38% of demand, About 92% of total spending on medical travel per

patient is less than $30,000, Medical tourists spend between $7,475 and $15,833 per medical

travel trip, For 6 million patients, medical travel may contribute $45 - $95 billion to global GDP,

Latin America and Asia are the two leading regions for medical travel, Mexico and India

respectively have the highest demand for medical tourism and almost 76% of patients with a

future interest in medical travel are American.

She recommended that collaboration with stakeholders to conduct annual global market

research and to institute policies to expand various markets within medical tourism industry.

Collaborate to develop healthcare hubs as a part of regional economic integration she

concluded.

Medical tourism facilitators’ act as the focal point of the process by linking overseas patients to

medical providers and looking into their travel, transportation and tourism needs said Mr.

Ibrahim Abu Gharbieh. Dr. Uma Nambiar spoke about the changing dynamics medical tourism

and how do we adapt,

According to Dr. Benazir Ameer Ali Medical Tourism is now perceived as one of the fastest

growing segment in healthcare. The recent trend is for patients to travel from developed

countries to third world countries for medical treatment because of cost consideration, waiting

time, privacy/confidentiality, though the traditional pattern still continues. Technology will lead

the way in future Medical Tourism. Along with that we can expect extremely personalized

services, niche specialist centers, wider network of partnerships, increased number of

accreditations, certifications and industry specific associations said Dr. Benazir.

About: Thumbay Hospital - The Preferred Medical Tourism Destination in UAE

Thumbay Hospitals (due to open in December 2014 / January 2015) has taken measures to

improve all its services and procedures with the introduction of the International Medical

Tourism unit of its Hospitals. Thumbay Hospitals provide excellent Healthcare services, world

class recovery measures as well as recreational therapy and Spa services.

The International Medical Tourism department of Thumbay Hospitals aims to cater to an

extensive number of patients and be known as the preferred hospital for medical tourism in

UAE.

Currently, Thumbay Hospitals receive enquiries from a wide range of clientele  including

hospitals, medical practitioners, partnered agents, and various enquiry forwarding websites from

across the globe.

Thumbay Hospitals is aligning itself with the Dubai’s Vision 2020 for Medical Tourism. Along

with Dubai, the other Emirates of UAE are gearing up to attract more medical tourists in the near

future. This would mean increasing patient requirements, higher demand for facilities and larger

calls for personalization.

Looking at the current and future trends in Medical Tourism, Thumbay hospital has developed

enhanced facilities, maintaining highest standards of quality and offering packages with a wide

range of personalization options.