Media Release
Dubai, Nov 24: Dubai’s goal of attracting half a million medical and health tourists by 2020 will soon be achieved after Thumbay Group has announced its plans to support that goal with 1000 medical tourists per day across its healthcare network.
The announcement came during the 4th Annual Health & Medical Tourism Conference held at Hotel Hyatt Regency - Dubai Creek Heights, on November 23.
Organized by Thumbay Medical Tourism in association with Thumbay Hospital, the conference brought together industry experts from healthcare, travel, medical tourism and medical education sectors. The half-day event highlighted the latest trends and developments in medical tourism and explored ways to boost health tourism the UAE.
Speaking at the conference, Dr Layla Mohamed Al Marzouqi, director, Dubai Health Tourism Council, said that Dubai is well-positioned to achieve its goal of welcoming half a million international patients by 2020, thanks to the support of key players in the private sector like the Thumbay Group, which announced its plans to attract 1,000 tourist per day to its facilities across the UAE.
Dubai currently ranks number one in the Arab world and 16th globally, based on the 2016 Medical Tourism Index.
“Dubai’s proximity, safety and connectivity, coupled with the fact 80 percent of the UAE’s hospitals are internationally accredited, are some of the key factors that helped the Emirate fast become one of the world’s top health tourism destinations,” Dr Al Marzouqi added.
In 2016, the number of health tourists visiting Dubai reached 326,649, an increase of 9.5 per cent compared to 298,359 the previous year. Top medical and health treatments sought by visitors to the emirate were orthopedics, dermatology, dental, fertility, health and wellness, ophthalmology and aesthetics.
Akbar Moideen Thumbay, vice-president of the Healthcare Division of Thumbay Group, reiterated the conglomerate’s commitment to Dubai’s plans of becoming an international hub for health tourism, by adding three new hospitals, five clinics, 15 pharmacies and five diagnostic labs to its existing network.
A member of the Dubai Health Experience - a Dubai Health Authority (DHA) initiative aimed at strengthening the Emirate’s position as a health tourism hub - the Thumbay Group has launched several initiatives to support the emirate’s ambition, including an exclusive Marhaba lounge service for patients coming from abroad, priority appointments in the group’s medical facilities, and fast-tracked services including administrative and medical procedures.
Shaikh Mohammed Maktoum Juma Al maktoum – chairman of MBM Groups, was chief guest at the event and Dr Thumbay Moideen, founder president Thumbay Group, presided the event which also saw the participation of Dr Jia Xiao Fang, president, China International Health & Medical Tourism Association and Dheeraj Joshi, partner, Price Waterhouse Cooper, who highlighted Dubai’s position amongst the global medical tourism Space.
A panel discussion, which was moderated by Linda Abdullah, consultant, Health Tourism Council – DHA, discussed enhancing the experience of health tourists. Panelists included Ahmed Al Falasi, chief operating officer of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, and Stephen Smith, Health Bank.
About Thumbay Group’s Healthcare Division
The Thumbay network of academic hospitals is now the largest network of private academic hospitals in the Middle East, treating patients from around 175 nationalities. It is also one of the biggest JCI-accredited private academic hospital networks in the region.
Thumbay Group’s healthcare division also operates a chain of family clinics (Thumbay Clinic) and multispecialty day care hospitals (Thumbay Hospital Day Care) in the UAE as well as diagnostic labs (Thumbay Labs) and pharmacies (Thumbay Pharmacy) in the UAE and India. The hospitals and clinics are presently located at Dubai, Ajman, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain in the UAE and in Hyderabad—India.
Thumbay Medical Tourism, which promotes Thumbay Group’s ultra-modern healthcare services to international patients, is tied-up with 87 countries through representative offices. The Thumbay academic hospital network will have a total of 1000 beds in the UAE, 1500 beds in India and 750 beds elsewhere in the Gulf and Africa by 2022, taking the total number of hospitals to 15 worldwide.
Established by the Founder President Dr Thumbay Moideen in 1998, today Thumbay Group is a diversified international business conglomerate with presence across 20 sectors of business including Education, Healthcare, Medical Research, Diagnostics, Retail Pharmacy, Health Communications, Retail Opticals, Wellness, Nutrition Stores, Hospitality, Real Estate, Publishing, Technology, Media, Events, Medical Tourism, Trading and Marketing & Distribution. Thumbay Group follows a strategic plan, according to which the Group aims to expand its businesses over ten times, with global presence. The strategic vision plan aims to increase the employee strength to 25,000 by the year 2022.