From Argentina to Thailand, countries have benefited from the growth in travel for medical procedures and the business is set to expand in the Middle East, according to leading industry observers.
“As global healthcare choices expand, patients are travelling across the world to seek medical treatment,” said Ayana Everett, Conference Producer of the first Healthcare Travel and Exhibition Congress taking place at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai, from 2-4 November 2008. “Internationally, healthcare travel is expected to become a $40 billion industry by 2010,” Everett added.
“Going abroad for elective or necessary procedures is taking off and countries such as Jordan and Lebanon are already benefitting. With a population predominantly made up of expatriates, the United Arab Emirates has always been a major market for the medical travel business. Now the UAE has embarked on ambitious plans to make the emirates a major inbound destination for medical travel.”
The UAE and other countries are hoping to emulate the success of places such as Singapore. In 2006, some 410,000 patients travelled to Singapore for healthcare and from 2012 hopes to attract one million medical travellers annually.
Based entirely around private businesses, global medical travel is a fiercely competitive market and substantial sums of money have been invested throughout the world. Healthcare travel is not only a matter of individual patients. Employers, insurance companies and governments are integral parts of the equation as well.
“The global economic downturn is expected to impact medical travel, as with all industries,” Everett added. “The challenge is for providers, brokers and insurance companies to help customers on budgets to ensure they remain well-covered internationally at a competitive price. Providers who can manage that balancing act will have a competitive edge.”
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