UAE Medical Tourism Market Set To Grow Due To World-Class Facilities

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The UAE's medical tourism market is expected to grow at a higher pace due to massive investment in healthcare facilities that can now successfully complete any complex surgical procedure that will help the country earn large foreign exchange.

The UAE has 13,772 healthcare facilities nationwide as of Q2 2026, according to the UAE Healthcare Capacity Report Q2 2026 - Zavis. These include 173 hospitals and 6,854 clinics/healthcare centres with 18,500 hospital beds, 99,520 licensed health professionals.

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The UAE healthcare market is estimated at $30–33 billion in 2026, with projections pointing toward $60 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7 to 8 per cent, according to bioNixus.

The country, which was a net medical tourism source market for other countries including India, Singapore, United Kingdom, the United States and Thailand in the past, is going to attract patients for treatment, thanks to an agreement signed between UK-based The Medical Travel Company (TMTC) and Nuqaim Holdings, the Dubai-headquartered diversified healthcare enterprise, that will attract patients from other countries to the UAE for treatment.

“The UAE has built some of the most advanced healthcare infrastructure in the world, and patients from Europe, the GCC and Africa are increasingly choosing it. This partnership opens a trusted corridor from the UK and brings highly experienced world renowned and distinguished UAE Based specialists to manage these patients providing the highest internationally evidence based practices and care. Together, we are shaping a future where healthcare is accessible, efficient and compassionate,” Dr. Shajir Gaffar, Managing Director, Nuqaim Holdings, said.

A defining feature of the partnership is bringing international healthcare providers from India/UK/ USA and UAE to operate in the UAE. The Consortium clinicians are senior consultants, with experience of thousands of complex procedures, including robotic surgery. While outbound travel has decreased, inbound medical tourism to the UAE has surged, with Dubai alone welcoming over 690,000 international medical tourists annually.

Ankit Mehrotra, Co-Founder, The Medical Travel Company, said,“In the United Kingdom, patients suffer from a long waiting list that ranges from a few months to years, to get an appointment for crucial surgeries through the National Health Service (NHS). Patients undergo enormous suffering – which forces them to look beyond the UK for surgeries and other treatment.”

With NHS waitlists at an all-time high with more than 8 million people waiting to see a doctor or get a surgery done in the UK, this corridor gives UK patients a new option: Surgeries in the UAE, a few hours' flight from home, in an internationally accredited hospital offering world-class care. The New Consortium manages the entire journey end to end, from the first consultation with a specialist in the home country to visas, flights, accommodation, airport transfers and a dedicated care coordinator throughout the journey. The corridor also extends to patients from Africa.

“Most medical travel companies book a hospital and stop there. TMTC is a full-stack healthcare concierge: a UK doctor assesses their case, we match the patient with the right specialist, and we handle their travel, treatment, recovery and follow-up once they're home,” Ankit Mehrothra said.

Dubai ranks sixth in the world on the Medical Tourism Index and welcomed 691,478 international health tourists in 2023. Its healthcare sector now counts around 5,800 licensed facilities and more than 69,400 private-sector professionals.

Every patient's own UK doctor stays involved before, during and after treatment, with nurse-assisted recovery and telemedicine follow-up.

Dr. Samih Tarabichi, consultant orthopaedic surgeon and knee and hip replacement expert, said:“Many patients in the UK face prolonged waiting times for joint replacement surgery, during which pain can intensify and mobility can deteriorate. The UAE offers timely access to treatment at internationally accredited hospitals, delivered to established, evidence-based clinical standards.”

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