Medical tourism growth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is gaining pace due to cost advantages, English-speaking medical staff and zero waiting period for treatment, which, in turn, will propel the domestic pharmaceutical market, says a report by GlobalData.

Titled ‘CountryFocus: Healthcare, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape – United Arab Emirates’, the report forecasts the UAE pharmaceutical market to witness a double-digit growth of more than 13%, from approximately $3 billion in 2015 to $5.7 billion by 2020.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

The growth will also be aided by increasing healthcare expenditure, policies benefitting the industry such as mandatory health insurance for citizens and the Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) efforts to develop the medical tourism sector.

The DHA plans to turn UAE into a medical tourism hub, with the aim of attracting 1.3 million medical tourists a year by 2021.

“The DHA plans to turn UAE into a medical tourism hub, with the aim of attracting 1.3 million medical tourists a year by 2021.”

Furthermore, the stable political and economic environment of the UAE and the government’s encouragement of private healthcare industry through initiatives such as establishing special zones that offer full tax redemption and foreign ownership will benefit the industry.

Pharmaceutical companies, however, must be prepared to face threats such as the government lowering the price of drugs and the proliferation of counterfeit drugs, cautions the report.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 35% of the pharmaceutical products in the Middle East may be illicit.

Inducing public confidence in health delivery systems, that is otherwise lost due to counterfeit drugs, will be a challenge to companies.