The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) unveiled the country's most up-to-date wellness and medical offerings at an event in Dubai on April 18.
 
The event, organised in partnership with Thai Airways, saw over 100 people from the medical and wellness industry in Thailand come together with local travel professionals in Dubai to discuss Thailand’s extensive offerings in the medical tourism and wellness areas at Wasl Ballroom, Le Meridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre – UAE.
 
The Health and Wellness Roadshow 2019, which took place on April 17 and 18, covered two countries, both of which are key markets for TAT. The Roadshow has seen TAT visit Kuwait (April 17) and Dubai (April 18) and serves to highlight Thailand’s many offerings to the travel industry in the Middle East region.
 
This year, eight Thai companies specialising in medical tourism and wellness - Phyathai 2 Hospital, APEX Medical Center, Absolute Health Clinic, Sukumvit Hospital, Verita Life, The Spa Samui, Dr.Saran Clinic and FEMTO Research Group - together with 80 travel agents attended the roadshow.
 
Thailand is one of the leading destinations for visitors from the UAE, with many of those being repeat visitors. The UAE ranks amongst the top three countries in the Middle East with the highest number of visitors to Thailand. Last year, Thailand welcomed over 128,000 UAE tourists. Thailand is one of the most popular destinations for Arab travellers seeking medical tourism offerings. Statistics show that 20 per cent of tourists from the Middle East visit Thailand for medical reasons. The top three most requested medical treatments are medical check-ups, plastic surgery and orthopaedic surgery.
 
Pichaya Sais, director of Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Middle East office, said: “The UAE is a key market for us and we are incredibly excited to speak to local agents here in Dubai about our cutting-edge medical and wellness offerings."
 
“Thailand has emerged as a leading destination for medical and wellness tourism and is a world-leader with several JCI-accredited hospitals, specialised clinics and private healthcare centres, which offer impeccable world-class facilities, highly trained doctors, Thai hospitality and affordable prices. Thailand has adopted some of the most innovative and holistic health and wellness programs including the latest plastic surgery procedures, functional medicines, anti-ageing, dental, aesthetic, cell therapy, Lasik, elderly care services and much more. We hope by bringing the roadshow to the UAE that we can increase health and wellness tourism by 5 per cent by Q4 2019.” - TradeArabia News Service