Strategic Indicators of the Role of Government in Developing Dubai as a Medical Tourism Hub

Abstract

Medical tourism is a growing phenomenon in the Middle East. Dubai is strategically located to competitively attract patients from Islamic backgrounds given the cultural congruence with the Middle Eastern countries for medical tourism. Dubai is famous for its shopping, sightseeing, desert safaris, state-of-the art tourism facilities, and as a melting pot for Eastern and Western civilizations. The government of United Arab Emirates is playing a key role to support the development of Dubai as a medical tourism hub of the Middle East and diversify the oil-based economy in an innovative way. It is developing various niche tourism products and services embedded in the non-oil sectors of the economy by applying the five strategic indicators required to study the role of governments in planning and supporting sustainable tourism.

Exploring the challenges for medical tourism in the United Arab Emirates during the Covid-19 pandemic era: a stakeholder perspective

“…Global trade in healthcare services or medical tourism is influenced by medical, cultural, economic, technological, security and global political factors (Connell, 2013; Han and Hyun, 2015; Habibi et al. , 2022; Hanefeld and Smith, 2019; Haq and Medhekar, 2020; Lunt and Mannion, 2014; Malhotra and Dave, 2022). By 4 April 2022, the Joint Commission International (JCI) has accredited 210 healthcare organizations in the UAE, which is the highest number among all countries (JCI, 2016).…”