UAE medical tourism market poised for rapid expansion as healthcare investments draw international patients

The UAE’s medical tourism sector is expected to accelerate as significant investment in healthcare infrastructure enables the country to perform complex surgical procedures and generate substantial foreign exchange, according to industry reports and new partnerships.

Market size and capacity

The UAE healthcare market is valued at $30–33 billion in 2026, with projections of reaching $60 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 7 to 8 per cent, according to bioNixus. The country had 13,772 healthcare facilities nationwide as of the second quarter of 2026, the UAE Healthcare Capacity Report Q2 2026 by Zavis shows. These include 173 hospitals and 6,854 clinics or healthcare centres, with 18,500 hospital beds and 99,520 licensed health professionals.

Partnership creates medical corridor

An agreement between UK-based The Medical Travel Company (TMTC) and Nuqaim Holdings, a diversified healthcare enterprise headquartered in Dubai, aims to attract patients from other countries to the UAE for treatment. The partnership will bring international healthcare providers from India, the UK, the US and the UAE to operate in the country. Consortium clinicians are senior consultants with experience in thousands of complex procedures, including robotic surgery.

Dr Shajir Gaffar, Managing Director of Nuqaim Holdings, said: “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.”

Ankit Mehrotra, Co-Founder of The Medical Travel Company, noted that in the United Kingdom, patients face long waiting lists ranging from months to years 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,” he said.

With NHS waitlists at an all-time high, more than 8 million people are waiting to see a doctor or get surgery in the UK, Mehrotra said. The new corridor gives UK patients an alternative: surgeries in the UAE, a few hours’ flight from home, in an internationally accredited hospital offering world-class care. The consortium manages the entire journey, from initial consultation with a specialist in the home country to visas, flights, accommodation, airport transfers and a dedicated care coordinator throughout. 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,” Mehrotra said. Every patient’s own UK doctor remains involved before, during and after treatment, with nurse-assisted recovery and telemedicine follow-up.

Dubai ranks high in medical tourism

Dubai ranks sixth globally on the Medical Tourism Index and welcomed 691,478 international health tourists in 2023, with outbound travel declining while inbound medical tourism to the UAE has surged. The emirate’s healthcare sector now has around 5,800 licensed facilities and more than 69,400 private-sector professionals. The UAE, which was previously a net medical tourism source market for countries including India, Singapore, the UK, the US and Thailand, is now attracting patients for treatment.

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.”