Promotion Of Medical Tourism To Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has done much to add to and improve local hospitals to make them up to date; but has had little success in attracting medical tourists. Many locals go overseas for treatment, and even for medical check ups. Numbers doing this has gone down by 20 to 30% in the last three years. But it is unclear whether this is due to better provision at home, or the global economy causing fewer to afford overseas treatment.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has done much to add to and improve local hospitals to make them up to date; but has had little success in attracting medical tourists.

Many locals go overseas for treatment, and even for medical check ups. Numbers doing this has gone down by 20 to 30% in the last three years. But it is unclear whether this is due to better provision at home, or the global economy causing fewer to afford overseas treatment. Saudis tend to go to high cost countries such as the UK, Germany and Switzerland.

The country has relied heavily on the logic that building new hospitals and seeking international accreditation will automatically bring in medical tourists. But with most Gulf nations pursuing a similar strategy, this alone does not bring in medical tourists. The state and hospitals have been reluctant to advertise or market the country properly.

Dr. Sami Badawood of Jeddah Wellbeing Affairs says that the country needs to do more to attract medical tourists from other Gulf nations. “There are plans to develop a brand for medical tourism in Jeddah. The strategic five-year plans seek to create a medical city in Jeddah that has many medical services. To do this we need much more private sector investment.” Jeddah has 40 hospitals and a growing number of private clinics. But as India and Dubai are showing, medical cities or medical tourism clusters are part of an outdated concept that never did and probably never will, bring in sufficient numbers of medical tourists to justify the huge investment expense.

The Ministry of Wellbeing and the Jeddah Governorate are to hold a workshop on how to create a plan to increase medical tourism in Jeddah. They may carry on independently or seek the help of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA); which works with public and private interests to promote tourism. The country needs to attract medical tourists and increase the capacity and resources of private hospitals.

Saudi Arabia has many local competitors; particularly Jordan and the UAE. Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, India, the Philippines and Eastern European nations are attracting substantial numbers of medical tourists from the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia gets medical tourists seeking pediatric and obesity remedies and eye surgery. Cosmetic surgery is increasingly popular but is much more expensive than in India, Egypt or Lebanon. Costs generally are far higher than Asian competitors. One area that could be developed is stem-cell therapy and infertility therapy; but both face local cultural and religious obstacles, while the nations opposition to women being involved in anything other than child rearing and housework, and strict dress codes, would make it a very uncomfortable destination for couples seeking fertility treatment. The normal local procedure of only talking to the husband about even the most intimate female medical details may not be very attractive.

Public and private sectors are not working together to promote medical tourism. Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country in which Islamic law is strictly enforced. Islamic codes of behaviour and dress are also rigorously enforced. Anyone involved in a commercial dispute with a Saudi company or individual may be prevented from leaving the country pending resolution of the dispute. The Saudi legal system is different; suspects can be held without charge and denied legal representation. The Saudi authorities often detain witnesses and victims of crimes, as well as the culprit. All visitors require a visa to enter Saudi Arabia. Visitors may be refused entry to Saudi Arabia if their passport contains evidence of previous travel to Israel. Saudi law requires female visitors to have their sponsor meet them on arrival.

Saudi Arabia is a classic case where culture and local politics mean that the potential for inbound medical tourism is limited. Although the local culture may not cause problems for some Gulf states; those with more westernized ideas can be put off. For most Americans, Asians and Europeans, the culture will stop it being considered as a medical tourism destination.