ATTRACTING MEDICAL TOURISTS IN DUBAI

[Anchor Lead]

The tourism industry is eager to attract tourists as the government relaxed disease control measures. One of the industry plans to jump-start a tourism boom is to draw medical tourists from the Middle East.

[Pkg]

The exotic environment and Middle Eastern splendor are eye-catching. Some 1,500 businesses from 62 nations are taking part in the largest tourism trade show in the Middle East, the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.

[Soundbite] Halid(Hotelier from Oman) : "I came to the show to attract tourists after two of the worst years ever. It was mainly due to COVID-19."

South Korea’s publicity efforts focused on medical tourism, an area that was adversely impacted by the pandemic. Presentations are available to show the participants Korea’s medical infrastructure and services.

[Soundbite] (Visitor) : "How can we contact you?"

About 500,000 foreign patients visited Korea in 2019 before the pandemic. The number has been increasing every year. Medical tourists from the Middle East usually sought beauty treatments and cosmetic surgeries, but there's been an increasing demand for critical care. The government of the UAE has been actively sending critically ill patients to Korea.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jeon In-ho(Asan Medical Center) : "We specialize in congenital malformations, cancer operation and liver transplants. So they’re sending us many patients in critical conditions."

It is, therefore, important to boost the quality of medical services and increase the number of medical tourists. The race to meet the demands of the 100-trillion-won global medical tourism market is heating up in the post-COVID-19 era.