Dubai treated 326,640 domestic and inbound medical tourists in 2016, resulting in revenues of Dh1.421 billion ($386.7 million) according a report.

The patients were received across the emirate's hospitals licensed by DHA.

Dr. Layla Al Marzouqi, director of the DHA Medical Tourism Council, said: "Dubai's medical tourism revenues hit Dh1.421 billion ($386.7 million) in 2016, which is an increase of 1.5 per cent against Dh1.40 billion ($381 million) in 2015," WAM reported.

“We expect this number to multiply by the end the year and we aim to surpass our 2020 target - which is Dh2.6 billion - by an additional 20 per cent," she said.

Dr Al Marzouqi said that 31 per cent of the medical tourists were from GCC and Arab countries, 27 per cent were from Asian countries, 15 per cent from European countries and the remaining 27 per cent were from from other countries of the world.

A majority of the medical tourists were in the age group of 25 to 45 years. The top health specialties availed by the medical tourists were orthopaedic surgeries, ophthalmology and cosmetics dermatology.

"Dubai is known for its high-quality medical care, rendering the emirate a sought-after destination for recuperative tourism," said Dr. Al Marzouqi.

DHA’s aim is to deliver an efficient, accessible and unified healthcare system, as well as boost the emirate's competitiveness and enhance its position on the global medical tourism scene, she said.

DHA recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Health Bank with the aim to drive medical tourism in the region and hopes to over 1.3 million medical tourists by 2021.

“We aspire to position Dubai as the first medical tourism destination in the Mena region and to be among the top 10 medical tourism destinations in the world," said Dr Marzouqi.  – TradeArabia News Service