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THE medical tourism sector worldwide is growing exponentially and set to become a $100 billion (BD38.17 billion) sector by 2012, according to industry research.
The sector is growing at a whopping 20-30 per cent annually and experts believe it will continue its growth pattern in the years to come.
According to Frost & Sullivan, the medical tourism industry is currently a $78.5 billion industry (end-2010), catering to over three million patients who travel around the globe for medical care.
The Middle East is one of the latent source markets of patients and it is estimated that 20 per cent of healthcare seekers worldwide are from Gulf and Arab states.
Significantly, patients from one Gulf state alone spend about $2 billion in healthcare travel on an annual basis. As a result, many countries are targeting the region to woo guests and patients to their own medical tourism destinations.
Europe has been a primary medical tourism hub for hundreds of years and continues to lead the industry today followed by Asian countries such as Thailand, India and Malaysia.
Boasting of an excellent healthcare system, high quality, safe and quick treatment, Germany is considered to be a top destination for patients from all over the world, and particularly from the Middle East and US.
In Germany, the Brenner's Park-Hotel & Spa situated in the valley of the Black Forest in Baden-Baden, is one example of a luxurious hotel boasting world-renowned medical spa facilities.
Doctors offer aesthetic dentistry, dermatology, naturopathic detoxification and elimination therapy, in addition to nutrition coaching, weight-loss programmes and beauty packages.
Samir Daqqaq, senior vice president - development (Middle East and Africa) at Oetker Hotel Collection, said: "Over the past few years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of GCC tourists to Germany.
"The Middle East is one of the most important markets for us. We have been actively investing our time and resources in promoting the health benefits offered at Brenner's Park.
"The rising health costs in developed countries, the opportunity to get world-class treatment coupled with the avenue to spend quality time in beautiful locales, are leading people to seek affordable health care elsewhere, such as Baden-Baden."
A McKinsey & Company 2008 report also emphasises that 40 per cent of medical travellers seek advanced technology, while 32 per cent seek better healthcare. Another 15 per cent seek faster medical services while only nine per cent of travellers seek lower costs as their primary consideration.
Statistics by the German Federal Statistics Office show that the number of overnight stays by GCC nationals in the country during the first five months of 2010 touched 243,759 nights - an increase of 16.4 per cent compared to same period in 2009.
When compared to the same period in 2008, the number of GCC visitors to Germany rose by 30.3 per cent - among the highest from any region in the world, making Germany the preferred destination for travel and medical tourists from Gulf, tourism chiefs say.
The concept of medical tourism is not a recent development. The concept of medical travel is as old as medicine itself.
The Sumerians (4000 BC) constructed the earliest known health complexes that were built around hot springs. Then, there are records of Greek pilgrims who travelled from all over the Mediterranean to a small territory in Saronic Gulf called Epidauria.
In 18th Century England, for example, patients visited spas because they were places with supposedly health-giving mineral waters, treating diseases from gout to liver disorders and bronchitis.
