Medical Tourism in Dubai

This assignment delves into the phenomenon of medical tourism in Dubai. It analyzes patients' perspectives on why they choose Dubai for healthcare services, examining factors such as cost, quality, and reputation. The assignment also explores the potential impact of medical tourism on Dubai's economy and healthcare infrastructure. Qualitative research methods, including patient interviews and focus groups, are employed to gather data and provide insights into this growing trend.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Management Issues of Medical Tourism in Dubai
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Abstract
Medical tourism has become extremely popular in the last decade. Patients from all over the
world prefer to travel to a location where they would get their money’s worth while availing the
highest quality healthcare services. Thus, people from the developed countries travel to the
places that provide medical services at a lower cost that their home country. Sometimes people
also travel to another country to avail the best quality healthcare or a specialized treatment which
is not available in their home country. This has led to the rapid growth of medical tourism all
across the world. The researcher has studied the impact of medical tourism on the healthcare
management of Dubai. He has collected primary data through a survey from a sample of 50
respondents and analyzed those data using quantitative method. The analysis led to outcome that
medical tourism has helped the healthcare management of Dubai to improve their quality of
services and also contributed in the growth of the economy of Dubai. This research paper shows
the entire analysis process, literature review, and concluding remarks with recommendations on
how to address the issues regarding medical tourists and provide the best services to the
international patients.

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Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have been a great help in
completing the dissertation. These people had led me and helped me to know my hidden
potential and strength and utilize it in the best possible way in the undertaken research. I would
like to express my deep gratitude towards supervisor for his constant monitoring and
commendable and exemplary guidance, which has led me to complete the dissertation in the due
course of time. The guidance and unconditional support provided by him not only helped me a
lot during the thesis completion but also will remain with me for a longer time period on the
journey of my life. I would like to express my deep gratitude to all the participants who lend
their valuable input to develop an understanding about impact of training and development on
the job satisfaction of the government sector employees of the Sultanate of Oman Furthermore, I
would like to thank my family and friends, especially my dear mother and wife, who have been a
constant source of Inspiration, encouragement and support, and who they did not give up of
supplication to me of success, without which this task cannot be accomplished.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................6
1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................6
1.2 Background of the study........................................................................................................6
1.3 Research aim..........................................................................................................................7
1.4 Research objectives...............................................................................................................8
1.5 Research questions.................................................................................................................8
1.6 Research hypothesis...............................................................................................................8
1.7 Rationale of the research.......................................................................................................8
1.8 Structure of the research........................................................................................................9
Chapter 2: Literature review..........................................................................................................11
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................11
2.2 Concept of medical tourism.................................................................................................11
2.3 Pros and cons of medical tourism........................................................................................12
2.4 Healthcare sector in Dubai...................................................................................................14
2.5 Current trend in the healthcare management of Dubai........................................................15
2.6 Medical tourism in Dubai....................................................................................................17
2.7 Conceptual framework.............................................................................................................18
Chapter 3: Research methodology.................................................................................................19
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................19

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3.2 Research philosophy............................................................................................................19
3.3 Research approach...............................................................................................................20
3.4 Research strategy.................................................................................................................20
3.5 Research design...................................................................................................................21
3.6 Data collection process........................................................................................................21
3.7 Sampling method.................................................................................................................22
3.8 Pilot test...............................................................................................................................23
Chapter 4: Data analysis and findings...........................................................................................25
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................25
4.2 Findings and discussion.......................................................................................................25
4.2.1 Demographic factors.....................................................................................................25
4.2.2 Subjective factors..........................................................................................................29
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendation.................................................................................40
5.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................40
5.2 Linking to the objectives.....................................................................................................40
5.2.1 Linking to the first objective.........................................................................................40
5.2.2 Linking to the second objective....................................................................................41
5.2.3 Linking to the third objective.......................................................................................41
5.3 Recommendations................................................................................................................42
5.4 Limitations and future scope of the study............................................................................43

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References......................................................................................................................................45
Appendix........................................................................................................................................50

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
The research paper aims to find out the issue of medical tourism in Dubai and its impact
on the healthcare management of the country. The healthcare management facilities of Dubai are
considered as one of the best in the world (Othman et al. 2015). The healthcare sector of the
country is continuously expanding and it is incorporating many foreign investments and
partnerships to provide international standard services to the citizens as well as foreign patients
who come to Dubai to avail the best quality healthcare services. There are many healthcare
institutions in Dubai that have introduced management facilities to suit the needs of the foreign
patients and that has led to increase in the medical tourism in the country. Medical tourism is one
of the biggest trends in the healthcare sector of Dubai and the following research paper will focus
on the impact of medical tourism on the healthcare management (Chuang et al. 2014). The
researcher will collect primary data from the hospitals to know about the extent of medical
tourism happening in Dubai and its implications on the management.
1.2 Background of the study
Medical tourism has become a new trend in the healthcare sector. It refers to the event of
people travelling to other countries to avail the medical treatment. In the past, it was observed
that people from less developed countries used to travel to developed countries to avail highly
advanced medical treatment, which was not available in the home country due to lack of
infrastructure, education, capital investment etc. (van Weel et al. 2018). However, in the recent
years, the trend has changed significantly. People from the developed countries are travelling to

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the developing countries to avail the treatment at a lower cost. Many of the developing countries
have improved their medical facilities with foreign investments as well as capital formation in
the economy. For example, few Asian countries, such as, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and
Thailand, some Middle Eastern countries, such as, UAE, Israel, Jordon, and African countries
like South Africa have become popular destinations for medical tourism in the recent years due
to their improved healthcare facilities at a lower cost (Abubakar and Ilkan 2016). Dubai has
earned its fame in this field with advanced healthcare technology, efficient healthcare
management, and reasonable cost, availability of highly experienced and educated doctors
providing the best quality healthcare services.
As Dubai has been collaborating with foreign investors in the healthcare projects to
provide improved healthcare facilities, over the years, it has become one of the favorite
destinations of the people from developed as well as developing countries for availing the best
quality medical treatment. The management of the healthcare institutions have changed their
policies as well as incorporated many new policies to welcome the foreign patients to Dubai, as
medical tourism not only helps to improve the quality of medical services in the country, but also
contributes significantly in the economy through the inflow of foreign exchange (Han and Hyun
2015). Through this research study, the research will be focusing various aspects of medical
tourism in Dubai and its implications in the healthcare management in the country.
1.3 Research aim
The aim of the research paper is to evaluate various aspects of medical tourism in Dubai
and its impact on the healthcare management services of the city. UAE is one of the most
developed countries in the Middle East and due to its location, it has an advantageous position
among all other medical tourism destination. Coupled with geographical advantage, Dubai has

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made proper investment in the healthcare services to improve the quality. Through this paper, the
researcher aims to find out the effects of medical tourism on the healthcare sector of Dubai as
well as on the economy of Dubai.
1.4 Research objectives
The objectives of this research study are as follows.
 To find out pros and cons of medical tourism in Dubai
 To assess the impact of medical tourism on the management of the healthcare services in
Dubai
 To evaluate the effect of medical tourism on the economy of Dubai
1.5 Research questions
1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of medical tourism in the healthcare services
of Dubai?
2) What is the impact of medical tourism on the healthcare management in Dubai?
3) What are the effects of medical tourism on the economy of Dubai?
1.6 Research hypothesis
H0 (Null hypothesis): Medical tourism has a positive impact on the healthcare management of
Dubai.
H1 (Alternative hypothesis): Medical tourism does not have a positive impact on the healthcare
management of Dubai.

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1.7 Rationale of the research
Medical tourism is a very important topic in the healthcare services of the world. People
now prefer to travel to other countries with improved medical facilities rather than suffer for not
having good treatment facilities in their home country. Dubai is one of the most developed cities,
not only in the Middle East, but also in the world. The economy of Dubai is very strong and that
has been reflected in all the sectors of the economy. Healthcare management is no exception.
Dubai has been able to make improvements in all type of medical facilities in the past few
decades and thus, there has been rapid increase in the number of incoming foreign patients in
Dubai (van Weel et al. 2018). People from developed and developing countries come to Dubai to
avail the best quality treatment at a reasonable price. This has been contributing significantly in
the economic growth of the city through foreign capital inflow. The foreign money is beneficial
for Dubai as that can be reinvested in the healthcare management of Dubai. Therefore, the
researcher will be doing this study to evaluate the impact of medical tourism in Dubai on the
management of the healthcare services and assess that if it has been contributing positively in the
improvement of the healthcare services.
1.8 Structure of the research
This research paper will comprise of five chapters. The first chapter is the introductory
chapter, which presents the background study, research aim, objectives, questions, research
rationale and structure of the research. This chapter introduces the research topic to the reader.
The second chapter describes various arguments and supporting theories from previous literature
and scholarly articles. The researcher will study the academic papers from various online and
printed sources and present the relevant theories and information to establish his points in
pursuing the research study. Third chapter presents the research methodology, which presents the

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research procedures to be followed by the research while conducting the research. In the forth
chapter, the analysis of the collected data and discussion of the findings will be presented. The
fifth and last chapter is the concluding chapter, where the researcher establishes the connection
between the research objectives and findings and provides recommendations based on the
analysis and draws a conclusion to the research.

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Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1 Introduction
The second chapter focuses on the literature review on the different aspects of medical
tourism, its advantages and disadvantages, healthcare management in Dubai and impact of
medical tourism on the healthcare services and on the economy. The researcher will study
various scholarly articles to gain knowledge about the research topic and research methodology
that he will be pursuing to complete the research. Plenty of academic journals, books, magazines,
online publications, websites etc. will be explored by the researcher to gather information about
the subject of the research. He also focuses on the views of other authors regarding relevant
topics as well as gets idea about the research methodology. Literature review helps the researcher
as well as the readers to get acquainted with the research topic through the views of other
authors.
2.2 Concept of medical tourism
The history of medical tourism goes back a long way. The trend was started by the Greek
pilgrims thousand years back when they travelled to a small town for medical treatment from the
eastern Mediterranean region. The trend became quite popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in
Europe and some parts in Asia where people used to travel to other places to improve their health
and to avail medical facilities (Hanefeld, Smith and Noree 2016). In the recent times, people
travel to other places to avail the treatment either due to high cost of the health care services or
due to advanced technology in healthcare. As medical science has been improving and inventing
new technologies, the scopes for healthcare facilities have improved multiple times. In the

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developed countries, the level of capital investment is very high than that in the developing
countries and hence, the healthcare sector can invest in the R&D in a bigger manner. Thus, the
healthcare sectors of the developed countries are more advanced and efficient in terms of
technology of treatment and medicines. On the other hand, the service sector is more efficient in
the developing countries where human capital is cheap due to its abundance. The less cost of
labor enables the healthcare management to provide the services at a lower cost than that in the
developed countries (Fetscherin and Stephano 2016). Hence, when people, across the world,
travel to other countries for treatment, they have to choose between better treatment at a higher
cost or at an affordable cost. Hence, in the present world, patients have started to travel for
medical purposes to the developed countries, such as, UK, USA and developing countries, such
as, India.
2.3 Pros and cons of medical tourism
As stated by Ormond and Sulianti (2017), similar to other services, medical tourism also
has pros and cons or risks. The benefits of medical tourism can be enjoyed by both the patients
and the country providing the services. As the patients can enjoy the better healthcare, sometimes
they do not get satisfied with the healthcare management in the foreign country due to many
reasons. Lee and Fernando (2015) depict that the primary benefit of medical tourism is the lower
cost. The advanced treatments have become so costly that cost of travelling, staying and availing
treatment abroad has become cheaper than the cost of surgery or any other critical treatment in
the reputed hospitals of the developed countries. Travelling offers the patients the freedom to
choose the country they want to travel as well the hospital that suits their need and budget.
Breaking the bank for only one treatment is not feasible and there are many treatments that are
not covered by general medical insurance. Hence, people travel to another country that suits their

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preferences. Another advantage is that, the treatment procedure is faster for the foreign patients
due to their visa limitation. The post-operative care is also faster for them as they do not get
much time to stay longer in the foreign country. The patients can also explore the new places if
they get scopes after the treatment. That adds extra revenue from tourism for the country. Apart
from that, many patients opt for unconventional cosmetic surgeries, which they feel comfortable
to do in another country, due to lower cost and privacy.
Gmelch and Kaul (2018) highlight that medical tourism also has some disadvantages.
The major con is the patients often do not know about the qualification and reputation of the
doctors and the hospitals before selecting one. They often have to trust blindly once they chose
one doctor or hospital after coming to the country. They also have to trust the medical tourism
facilitators, as they do not have the proper knowledge about the reputation of the hospitals in a
foreign country. Incorrect information can result in bad experience, inefficient treatment and
healthcare services and wastage of resources (Hanefeld et al. 2014). The patients are often unable
to do proper research about the cost, medical facilities and qualifications and level of service
before going there and that sometimes lead to more than expected expenditure. The foreign
patients require proper insurance, and if they cannot provide that, they are either rejected by the
hospitals for providing services or they have to pay very high charge. Then the travelling cost
exceeds their treatment cost at home and the patients experience major financial setback. The
legal permits and papers can also throw in some problems anytime in a foreign country and the
patients must be ready for the consequences. Apart from that, language and cultural barriers can
also sometimes create major problems for the foreign patients and make them nervous and
misguided while availing treatment in a foreign country (Ormond and Sulianti 2017).

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2.4 Healthcare sector in Dubai
As stated by Inhorn (2017), the healthcare sector and management of Dubai is one of the
best in the Middle East and the gulf countries. The city has best hospitals and highly qualified
doctors and they provide very high quality medical services to the citizens as well as to the
foreigners who come to Dubai for medical purposes. The cost of health care is also affordable in
Dubai, which attracts patients from the developed countries. Ashraf (2014) shows that, in the
past few decades, there has been immense growth in the healthcare sector of Dubai. In spite of
the economic slowdown in Dubai, the healthcare services experienced considerable rapid
development. Not only hospitals and other type of medical institutions are established and
improved, but the study of healthcare management has improved too, and has been drawing a
large number of native and international students to Dubai. The sector has also attracted major
international investors and companies, who invested huge amount of capital in the healthcare
sector for the development. Dubai had aimed to be the global destination for the domestic as well
as the international patients and offer cost effective and high quality treatment and healthcare
management services to the medical tourists. From the numbers of medical tourists each year, it
can be said that Dubai has been successful in its objectives. It has successfully achieved
popularity from the patients from the developed as well as developing countries in the past few
years.
Cherian, Alkhatib and Aggarwal (2018) show that, as the population of the UAE and
other Gulf Countries are increasing due to longer life span and migrated population, the demand
for healthcare is increasing too. Along with that, the cost of healthcare is also rising. There is
increase in the chronic diseases among the native and the migrated population and that pushed
Dubai to bring in more capital investors as well as credible and authentic healthcare service

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providers. That would not only help the domestic patients, but would also attract foreign patients
by putting up a positive advertisement. With increasing competition in the market, the healthcare
management and the service providers are forced to raise their standards and lower the cost
(Rayes, Hassali and Abduelkarem 2015). That has been beneficial for the patients. The Ministry
of Health, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dubai Healthcare City (DHAA) and Health Authority
of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) are the organizations that work to achieve the goals of the healthcare
sector of Dubai (Matias 2016).
2.5 Current trend in the healthcare management of Dubai
The healthcare sector of Dubai has experienced big growth in the past few years and
among numerous branches medical services, the cardiac treatment, medical spas, cosmetic
surgery, ophthalmology have gained the major amount of popularity (allianceexperts.com 2016).
As the cost of equipment and services has increased globally by 30-40% in the past 3-4 years,
Dubai health services also experienced the impact. Overconsumption of the healthcare services,
rising cost of medical equipment, high competition among the medical professionals and doctors,
have all led to increase in the cost of healthcare management. The government of Dubai has
taken initiatives to control the rising cost by establishing public private partnerships as 70% of
the expenditure of the government are done on the healthcare sector (D'Mello 2017). The
objective is to encourage the private sector or investors to participate in the mission of making
Dubai a global medical destination for the people across the world through the infrastructural
development and quality improvement. Political stability of Dubai has given adequate support
for these initiatives (Shah et al. 2017).
The business opportunity has also increased in Dubai in the past few years. There are
rising demand for the highly qualified doctors and aesthetic surgeons along with Lasik

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professionals, rejuvenation treatment and dentistry departments, as the healthcare sector is
expanding. The level of cosmetic surgery has also achieved advanced stages in Dubai and that
has been attracting a huge number of patients from all over the world (Jassmi 2016). However,
Dubai offers these advanced treatments at a cost, which is comparatively much lower than in the
highly developed countries, like USA, UK, and Australia. Hence, the instance of medical tourism
has increased quite rapidly in Dubai.
usuaebusiness.org (2016) shows that, the healthcare sector of UAE has been going
through structural changes and has the potential to experience a record growth of 60% in the next
5 years, worth of Dh 103 million. The healthcare management of Dubai has been shifting its
focus from more conventional healthcare to more health consciousness among the masses.
Medical tourism is a big contributory factor in the growth of the healthcare management in
Dubai. According to the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda, UAE has been working towards
achieving the status of world class healthcare services and come in the list of advanced countries
providing the highest quality of healthcare (Colliers International 2014). Thus, the healthcare
management is adopting itself to the rapidly changing needs and demands of the younger and
more health conscious generation. The population is now tech savvy and enjoys the digital
connectivity with the rest of the world. This young generation is pushing the healthcare sector of
Dubai to improve its service quality in the medical field. In this process, the interaction between
the masses and health management leads to a better service standard and high competition keeps
the price at a lower level. The services have become more personalized and upgraded to
incorporate the digitalization and advancement of technology to make it at par with the world
class services.

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2.6 Medical tourism in Dubai
UAE accounts for 26% of the total fund of the healthcare facilities given by the GCC
governments (D'Mello 2017). The country is also promoting medical tourism. The current
revenue earned from medical tourism is worth of $17 billion or Dh64 billion (Meštrović 2015).
The shift in preventive care services, increase in specialty services, more efficient and qualified
professional from all over the world, high growth potential of the specific services in the
healthcare. The introduction of medical tourism and compulsory insurance policies has been
contributing in the growth of the healthcare management in Dubai. The improved infrastructural
development of Dubai Healthcare City attracts both the patients and the investors to the city. The
healthcare framework is provided by the UAE government and the private sector is providing
capital support to achieve the goals (usuaebusiness.org 2016). The group has plans to expand in
other regions also through acquisitions or from the scratch. Technology also plays a major role as
it has enabled better monitoring of the patient health and reduced the costs of the services.
Several initiatives have been taken to promote the medical tourism in Dubai. UAE has
launched the first comprehensive electronic medical tourism portal of the world that enables the
users to access all the information related to health, hospitality, facilities, travel, expenditures,
and visa services. Dubai expects to receive more than 500,000 global medical tourists by the end
of 2020. The visa processes have been simplified for the ease of the patients. In the first half of
2015, Dubai received 260,000 international patients, which signifies the success of their efforts
on medical tourism (Nazzal 2017). It also has a plan of attracting minimum half million
international patients in an year, which would contribute in the economy of Dubai with a revenue
of Dh2.6 billion, that is, USD 0.07 billion by the year 2020 (Townsend 2017). Initiatives have

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been taken to construct 18 private and 4 government hospitals with the employee strength of
more than 3800 (Ashraf 2014).
2.7 Conceptual framework
Lower cost of
medical facilities
Advanced healthcare
facilities and
excellent care
services
Medical tourism
Improvement in standard
and qualities healthcare
services and management
in Dubai
Increase in the
revenue of Dubai

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Chapter 3: Research methodology
3.1 Introduction
This chapter focuses on the methodology of the research paper. Research methodology
represents the approach and strategies adopted by the researcher to address the research
questions. To conduct a research paper, the researcher must follow a strategy or outline of the
direction of the research. Methodology consists of research philosophy, approach, design,
purpose, strategy, sampling techniques and data collection and analysis process. In the following
section, the methodology for this research paper is illustrated.
3.2 Research philosophy
Research philosophy throws light on the source, development and nature of knowledge.
This is fundamentally the belief about the process of data collection about the research topic, and
its analysis. This involves formulation of beliefs and assumption to conduct the research study
(Ryan 2018). Identification of research philosophy is the first step of research methodology. The
source and nature of the information and knowledge determine the choice of philosophy. Four
major type of research philosophies are, pragmatism, positivism, realism and interpretivism.
Pragmatism includes usage of both the qualitative and quantitative method of research.
Positivism involves highly structured method on large samples by using quantitative method of
research. It uses scientific application to get to the result in a logical way (Best and Kahn 2016).
Under realism, the method of research, that is, either qualitative or quantitative, is chosen
according to the relevance and suitability of the data. Lastly, under interpretivism, mostly

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qualitative research method is adopted for small samples. The researcher applies his
interpretation skills to get the findings from the data (Bernard 2017).
In this research paper, the researcher aims to collect primary data from the patients who
come from different countries to avail the healthcare facilities of Dubai. It will be collected
through a survey questionnaire and the data will be analyzed using statistical tools, that is, the
conclusion will be drawn using scientific method. Hence, positivism research philosophy will be
chosen for this research.
3.3 Research approach
Research approach follows from research philosophy. It is an important step while
selecting the method of research. Induction, abduction and deduction are three major types of
research approach. Induction approach focuses on generating new theories from unexplored topic
of research, while deductive approach tests the assumptions of the hypothesis and the results
against the established theories. Abductive research on the other hand, includes new puzzles and
explains it by applying known theories through the research (Kennedy and Thornberg 2017). In
this paper, the researcher will be applying deductive research approach. To test the research
hypothesis, the researcher will apply relevant theories under deductive approach.
3.4 Research strategy
Research strategy refers to the plan of the researcher about the steps to be followed to
answer the research questions. There must be a framework about how the researcher is planning
to proceed with the research and what are the steps should be followed to execute the plan is the
foundation of research strategy (Bryman 2015). There are various types of research strategy,
such as, surveys, case studies, experiments, ethnography, grounded theory, archival research,

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narrative inquiry and action research. Experiments and surveys are the most common research
strategies under deductive research approach. The researcher has chosen this strategy to get an
idea about the perceptions of the patients who come to Dubai for medical treatment. This
strategy is particularly helpful in getting the first hand knowledge about the research topic and
finding out the areas where attention should be given (Robson and McCartan 2016).
3.5 Research design
Research design ensures that the evidences found for the research topic enables the
researcher to address the research problems and questions effectively, logically and
unambiguously (Lewis 2015). There are two major types of research design, namely, exploratory
and explanatory. Under exploratory research, the researcher addresses a research topic, which
has not been explored before. This design enables the researcher to conduct the study on an
entirely new topic through exploration of the subject and related fields (Ioannidis et al. 2014). On
the other hand, explanatory research design addresses a research topic or hypothesis in the light
of established theories of other scholars on the related subjects. This design mainly focuses on
the explanation of the research problem by testing the obtained data against some established
theories. Hence, there is no scope for generating new theories for the research problem, rather the
research questions are addressed by using supportive argument from other scholarly articles
(Salazar, Crosby and DiClemente 2015).
In this research study on the medical tourism in Dubai, the researcher will be using
explanatory research design as there is no need to generate a new theory from the medical data.
The advantages and disadvantages of medical tourism and impact on the healthcare management
and economy of Dubai can be explained from the data and supporting theories.

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3.6 Data collection process
Two types of data are considered in any research project, primary and secondary. When
the researcher collects the data directly from the field of occurrence, it is called primary data. On
the other hand, when the data is collected from different sources, like, online publications, books,
journals, newspapers, various official websites, literatures or any other sources, it is known as
secondary data. Both types of data are extremely important in any research work. Primary data is
usually collected from the individuals who are directly related to the topic of the research. It
helps in getting the perspectives of people regarding the topic of the research, which in turn
determine the direction of the research and its implications on the outcomes (Taylor, Bogdan and
DeVault, 2015). The most common instruments for collecting the primary data are survey
questionnaire, interview questions, feedbacks, appraisal forms, reflective checklists etc. On the
other hand, secondary data is helpful to get a perspective on the research topic from other
author’s point of view. It also helps to validate the findings from the primary data (Neuman and
Robson 2014).
In the current research study, the researcher will be collecting the primary data through a
questionnaire survey on the foreign patients, who come to Dubai for treatment. The aim of the
study is to find out the impact of medical tourism on the healthcare management of Dubai. To
address this aim, primary data, that is, the direct response of the patients is more relevant than
secondary data as perceptions of people can be the determining factors for the medical tourism
phenomenon.
3.7 Sampling method
Sampling is very important for a survey. According to Smith (2015), sample is a
subset of a population with the same characteristics. As the entire population cannot be studied, a

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small section is drawn scientifically that represents the similar features and will help in getting
the data for the survey that represents the response of the entire population. Sampling has
advantages of saving the cost and time for data collection. However, Etikan, Musa and Alkassim
(2016) state that sampling method contain the risk of sampling error, which can lead to
compromisation in the accuracy in case of quantitative analysis. Different types of sampling
techniques are there, namely, simple random sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling,
systematic sampling (Freeman 2017). These fall under the category of Probability sampling.
Purposive sampling, snow ball sampling, quota sampling, and convenience sampling are the non
probability sampling.
Simple random sampling is the most commonly used technique in research papers. It is
chosen based on the sample size and nature of sampling. According to Palinkas et al. (2015), in
this sampling, each of the samples has equal probability of being chosen. This sampling is easy
to conduct and it usually produces unbiased outcomes. However, the chance of sampling error is
also high in this case. The researcher will be using simple random sampling in this study by
choosing 50 random patients in Dubai who have come from other countries to avail the advanced
medical facilities in Dubai.
3.8 Pilot test
Pilot test is conducted prior to the actual and large scale survey for ensuring the
effectiveness of the survey instrument. The main objective of the pilot test is to find out that if
there is any issue with a potential negative impact on the outcomes of the survey in the future,
then it should be ruled out even before the actual survey. For this pilot test, a very small subset is
drawn. 5 foreign patients were selected randomly to fill out the survey questionnaire. It is
observed with special attention that if they can understand all the questions clearly and if they

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could answer those in the first attempt only (Bryman and Bell 2015). After the completion of the
survey, the participants were asked about their experiences, that is, if they found it easier to
understand the questions and answer those easily or they found any question difficult to
understand or vague. The participants were also asked whether they found any question
objectionable or sensitive, which they would not have preferred to answer.
After the pilot test, it is found that, overall the respondents found the questionnaire quite
comprehensible. They could understand the questions on personal details and confidently
answered all of them. Regarding the question on availed medical treatment in Dubai in the last
year, there is a new finding that can be added as an answer option in the actual survey. 2 out of 5
patients had come to Dubai for cardiac treatment. This option was not added previously in the
list of answers. Regarding the questions in part 2, the participants had to think a little for
questions number 4 and 5. The participants were not sure about whether the Dubai healthcare
sector offers any special preference to the foreign patients, as they have no idea how the citizens
were given preference. Hence, this question needed amendment. It was changed to ‘Being a
foreign national, are you satisfied with the treatment you got in Dubai?’. This question solely
focused on their treatment experience in Dubai. Question number 5 addresses the efficiency of
the healthcare management of Dubai. The participants were not much aware about whether the
healthcare management in Dubai is as efficient as that of the other advanced countries. The
reason is that they have not visited any other country to avail the healthcare facility; hence, they
do not have clear idea about the level of medical facilities in other countries. Thus, the 5th
question should be changed. It is framed as ‘Have you chosen the hospital based on their
reputation?‘. This focused on the reputation of different hospitals of Dubai. The respondents are

25DISSERTATION
quite satisfied with the structure of the survey questionnaire and questions, as they did not face
any difficulty in answering the questions.

26DISSERTATION
Chapter 4: Data analysis and findings
4.1 Introduction
Chapter 4 illustrates the analysis of the collected data and its findings along with
explanation of those findings. The researcher has collected primary data directly from the foreign
patients who have come to Dubai to avail the medical services. The sample size is chosen as 50
and simple random sampling technique is used to draw the sample subset from the bigger
population. The primary data on the medical tourism was collected through a questionnaire
survey, containing 16 close ended and 1 open ended question. The questionnaire had questions
on demographic details and subjective factors. The findings and the discussions regarding the
data and its analysis have been presented in this chapter.
4.2 Findings and discussion
4.2.1 Demographic factors
Demographic factors are the socio-economic factors that depict the characteristics of the
sample or participants. The age, gender profiles, income, residence, etc. fall under the category
of demographic details. In this study, the age and gender profile, residence of the participants are
considered along with number of visits to Dubai, departments of the healthcare services availed
in the last year, and preference of hospitals. These data help to understand the preferences of the
treatment and the regions from where people come to Dubai to avail the treatment.

27DISSERTATION
Figure 1: Gender profile of the participants
Among the 50 participants of the survey, 52% are male and 48% are female. It can be said that
there is no gender biasness among the patients or in the service providers.
Figure 2: Residence of the participants
It is seen that majority (28%) of the participants of the survey hail from different countries in
Asia, followed by Europe (24%), different countries of the America (20%), Africa (14%), gulf
countries (8%) and Gulf countries (6%). Although, this does not signify any major pattern in the

28DISSERTATION
residence of the international patients as the sample size is small, but it can be said that, a large
number of patients come from Asia, America, and Europe apart from the domestic patients.
Figure 3: Treatment sought in last year
Among the 50 participants, 26% availed the orthopedic treatment, which is the maximum. It is
followed by 16% came for cardiac treatment, 14% for dermatology, 12% each for dental and
fertility department, and 10% each for ophthalmology and cosmetic treatment. Thus, it can be
said that, international patients have a preference for orthopedic, cardiac and dermatology
treatment in Dubai. However, when a large sample will be considered, the trend might be
different.

29DISSERTATION
Figure 4: Number of visits to Dubai for treatment
48% of the respondents reported that they have visited Dubai 1 to 3 times for the treatment,
which may include the initial and follow up treatments. 24% visited only once, 22% visited 4 to
6 times. Only 4% visited 6-10 times and 2% visited more than 10 times. These respondents are
expected to be the citizens of UAE and any Middle East and Gulf Countries, who does not need
visa to go to Dubai for medical treatment.
Figure 5: Age group of the participants

30DISSERTATION
The average age group of the participants is 36 to 55 years. 28% belonged to 36 to 45 years and
28% belonged to 46 to 55 years. 20% are under the group of 56 to 65 years. 16% are below 25%
and only 8% are above the age of 65 years.
Figure 6: Preference of hospitals
In case of preference of the hospitals, 54% preferred the private hospitals due to the better
quality of service compared to the public hospitals. 46% prefer government hospitals.
4.2.2 Subjective factors
Subjective factors are those which focus on addressing the particular issue of the research
topic. In this matter, the questions are set in the manner, which can bring out relevant
information on the patient’s perception about the medical tourism and efficiency of healthcare
management of Dubai. The questions addressed the issue of comparatively lower cost, advanced
medical technology in Dubai, post treatment care, efficiency of management, packages and
discounts for the foreign patients and many more. The responses were collected in the Likert
scale values, where 1 signifies strongly agree and 5 refers to strongly disagree. The findings are
listed below.

31DISSERTATION
Figure 7: Dubai offers the best quality treatment in the entire Middle East and Gulf
countries
Regarding the matter of quality of treatment offered in the Middle East and Gulf region, 46%
agreed and 32% strongly agreed that Dubai provides the best quality of medical services. 14%
however answered neutral, 4% disagreed and 4% strongly disagreed. Hence, it can be said that
majority of the patients have the perception that Dubai offers the best quality healthcare among
all the regions in the Middle East.
Figure 8: Dubai hospitals have the most advanced medical technology

32DISSERTATION
30% of the respondents strongly agreed and 40% agreed to question of whether the hospitals in
Dubai have the most advanced technology. On the other hand, 26% answered neutral and very
few, that is, only 2% disagreed and 2% disagreed. In this case also, it can be said from the
findings that the international medical tourists come to Dubai as they perceive that Dubai
healthcare sector has the most advanced technology.
Figure 9: Dubai provides high quality medical facilities at a cheaper cost than your country
It is found that 16% strongly agreed and 42% agreed to the question of whether Dubai provides
high quality medical facilities at a substantially cheaper cost than their home country. 16%
remained neutral, 22% disagreed and 2% strongly disagreed on this. Hence, majority says that
the medical cost of advanced and critical treatment is really cheaper in Dubai than their home
country and that is why they come to Dubai.

33DISSERTATION
Figure 10: Being a foreign national, you are satisfied with the treatment you got in Dubai
On the matter of whether the medical tourists are satisfied with the treatment they got in Dubai,
60% agreed and 14% strongly agreed. However, 18% answered neutral and 8% disagreed. None
of the participants strongly disagreed. Hence, there is overall satisfaction regarding the treatment
availed in Dubai.
Figure 11: You choose the hospital in Dubai based on their reputation
50% of the respondents agreed and 22% strongly agreed to the question of choosing the hospitals
based on the reputations. However, 14% answered neutral and 14% disagreed to this question.

34DISSERTATION
None of them strongly disagreed. Hence, it can be said that reputation of the hospitals matter to
the medical tourists while selecting a hospital to get the treatment.
Figure 12: Dubai offers better healthcare services than my country
On the question of whether Dubai offers better quality healthcare services and management than
their home country, 40% agreed, 38% answered neutral, 10% disagreed, 8% strongly disagreed
and only 4% strongly agreed. Thus, it can be said that, majority does not perceive that the quality
of healthcare management is exceptionally better in Dubai. Hence, cause of medical tourism can
be the lower cost of healthcare in Dubai.
Figure 13: Healthcare management of Dubai gives importance to patients’ right to safety,
information and responsible care

35DISSERTATION
50% of the respondents agreed to the question on whether Dubai healthcare management gives
proper importance to the patients’ right to information, safety and responsible care. However,
34% responded neutral, 10% strongly agreed, 4% disagreed, only 2% strongly disagreed. Thus, it
can be said that majority of the respondents felt that the Dubai hospitals give significance to
patients’ rights.
Figure 14: Packages and discounts, offered for the foreign patients by the Dubai hospitals,
are profitable for the patients
Regarding the question of packages and discounts offered by the hospitals to the international
medical tourists, 40% agreed and 10% strongly agreed that those facilities are profitable for
them. 26% responded neutral, 18% disagreed and 6% strongly disagreed about the facilities
being profitable for them.

36DISSERTATION
Figure 15: Healthcare management in Dubai should include more facilities, such as,
insurances for the foreign patients to attract more people from other countries
44% of the respondents agreed and 24% strongly agreed to the question of whether the Dubai
healthcare management should include some more facilities for the international medical tourists.
Those could be profitable insurances, packages, membership cards etc. that would be beneficial
for the foreign patients when they come to Dubai for treatment. However, 24% remained neutral
and 8% disagreed.
Figure 16: Post treatment services are also extremely efficient in the healthcare sector of
Dubai

37DISSERTATION
In the matter of efficiency of the post treatment services, Dubai hospitals do fairly well as 62%
of the respondents agreed to this question and 10% strongly agreed. 24% responded neutral and
4% disagreed. None of them strongly disagreed. Hence, overall the hospitals provide good post
treatment care, which helped them to earn good reputation among the foreign patients.
The last question in the survey questionnaire asked for suggestions from the respondents
on if they would recommend others to visit Dubai for medical tourism. It is observed that, 15
respondents directly responded negative and around 6 people highlighted that Dubai should
provide better and cheaper lodging, further lower cost for senior citizens and cheaper treatment
for some special treatment. Rest of the respondents is quite satisfied with the facilities,
accommodation and pre and post treatment care. Thus, they would like to suggest others to visit
Dubai for their treatment (Refer to Appendix for the responses).
Correlation
Best
treatme
nt in
Middle
East and
GCC
Most
advance
d
technol
ogy
cheaper
cost
Satisfa
ction
level
Hospital
reputatio
n
Better
health-
care
than my
country
Patients
' right
Profitab
le
package
s
More
facilities
for the
foreign
patients
Efficien
t post
treatm
ent
care
Best
treatment
in the
entire
Middle
East and
GCC 1
Most
advanced
technolog
y
0.35648
6 1

38DISSERTATION
Cheaper
cost
0.36996
3
0.32357
1 1
Satisfactio
n level
0.56870
4
0.44007
2
0.40241
6 1
Hospital
reputatio
n
-
0.06893 0.29259
-
0.04965
0.2752
41 1
Better
healthcar
e than my
country
0.17209
3
0.08393
5
0.15145
3
0.1123
54 0.114862 1
Patients'
right
0.24383
1
0.32928
4 0.0755
0.3303
41 0.165801
0.16062
4 1
Profitable
packages 0.36688
0.26861
4
0.41119
9
0.5343
65 0.100281
-
0.02534
0.27611
2 1
More
facilities
for foreign
patients
-
0.30219
-
0.01207
-
0.29477
0.0117
36 0.20351
-
0.17048
0.08438
1
0.13683
2 1
Efficient
post
treatment
care
0.05352
4
0.17589
1
-
0.03092
0.2996
9 0.501267
0.13628
9
0.25459
2
0.34436
5
0.21103
5 1
Table 1: Correlation among the factors
Correlation is performed on the subjective factors to find out the level of relation among the
variables using MS Excel. The correlation coefficient value is evaluated on the basis of
Pearson’s correlation coefficient, whose value ranges from +1 to -1. Positive correlation
indicates that when the value of one variable increases, the other one increases too. The opposite

39DISSERTATION
happens in case of negative correlation. 0 indicates no correlation. From the table it is found that,
majority of the variables are positively correlated with each other. Only in the case of correlation
of choosing the hospital based on its reputation with best quality treatment in Dubai and cheaper
cost are negatively correlated. That is reputation depends on the efficiency of management and
quality of services provided and choice based on reputation is not related to cheaper cost and if
best quality treatment is provided in Dubai. Better healthcare services than the respondent’s
home country and profitable packages offered by the Dubai healthcare management are also
negatively correlated. Whether the healthcare management should provide more facilities is
negatively correlated with many other variables, such as, if Dubai provides best quality
healthcare among all the regions of Middle East, have most advanced medical technology,
cheaper and better medical services than the home countries of respondents. The perceptions
about these factors cannot influence the perceptions about whether there should be more
facilities for the foreign patients. Again, the efficiency of the post treatment care of the hospitals
is negatively correlated with the cheaper healthcare facilities in Dubai. The responses about these
variables do not necessarily mean insignificant outcomes, rather it signifies that different
variables may be uncorrelated but have their own effect on the medical tourism in Dubai.
At the end of this chapter, it can be said that, although some of the variables are having
negative correlations among themselves, but these have collective impact on the medical tourism
in Dubai. Better medical facilities and technology, cheaper costs are the two major factors that
influence the medical tourism. Along with that, the packages offered for the foreign patients,
post treatment care, health insurance, and accommodation facilities are the major independent
influencing factors for the medical tourism in Dubai. At the same time, it can be said, as more
and more international patients are coming o Dubai for healthcare services, the hospitals are in

40DISSERTATION
continuous pressure and competition to improve their services. Even though they can afford to
have and maintain the most advanced tools and equipment, the continuous and increasing inflow
of foreign capital is beneficial to the healthcare management of Dubai to enhance their facilities
and improve their services to attract more international medical tourists. The improvement of the
services at a lower cost benefits the citizens of Dubai as well. Increased global competitiveness
help the healthcare sector of Dubai to provide improved services at a lower cost, and medical
tourism helps to increase the competitiveness. Hence, it can be deducted from the data analysis
that the null hypothesis is accepted. Medical tourism has a significant positive impact on the
healthcare management of Dubai.

41DISSERTATION
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendation
5.1 Introduction
This is the concluding chapter of the research paper. The researcher will discuss the
verdict of the data analysis and its implications in this chapter and also provide some
recommendations to address the new found issues from the research study. The researcher will
establish the links of the findings with the objectives of the research. Quantitative and deductive
research approach has been used in this paper to reach to the conclusion. Through a survey, the
researcher collected primary data from foreign patients, who have come to Dubai to avail
medical services. Those data were analyzed using quantitative method and the conclusion is
reached after the analysis.
5.2 Linking to the objectives
5.2.1 Linking to the first objective
The first objective was to find out the advantage and disadvantages of the medical
tourism. The researcher has studied various academic articles by numerous scholars to find out
different perspectives of the authors. By studying different articles, the researcher has found
many aspects of the medical tourism. The better quality healthcare services and lower cost of
healthcare are the two major advantages of medical tourism. The patients also get to explore new
places once their treatment is completed. Visit of international tourists help the healthcare
management of a country to be more efficient and competitive. To serve the patients with the
world class services, the healthcare sector has to improve their quality of services, and provide
those services at a comparatively lower cost than their competitors. That brings benefits to both

42DISSERTATION
the domestic as well as the foreign patients. They can avail good quality treatment at a lower
cost.
5.2.2 Linking to the second objective
The second objective of the paper was to evaluate the impact of medical tourism on the
healthcare sector of Dubai. From the study of various reports and articles, it is observed that over
the past few years more than 2.5 million people visited Dubai for medical treatment. The
industry is worth of USD 17 billion and it is expected to increase its worth to USD 63 billion by
2021. It is found that, as the number of international patients is increasing over the years, the
healthcare sector of Dubai has also been taking the initiatives to provide more world class
services to the patients. The Ministry of Healthcare of Dubai has been implementing projects in
collaboration with other private and public companies to develop more improved healthcare
facilities. Many international as well as well domestic investors have come forward in Dubai to
participate in the infrastructural development of the healthcare management in Dubai. The need
for better services also increased the demand for the healthcare management studies in Dubai.
The number of students enrolling for healthcare management courses has increased significantly
and number of colleges and universities offering these courses also increased. Hence, it can be
said that the efficiency of the healthcare sector has been enhanced due to positive impact of
medical tourism.
5.2.3 Linking to the third objective
The third objective of this research paper is to evaluate the effect of medical tourism on
the economy of Dubai. Dubai is one of the most financially strong cities not only in UAE, but

43DISSERTATION
also in the entire Middle East and Gulf region. The city has seen rapid development and growth
in the economy in the past few years, which has also been reflected in the healthcare sector. the
city has developed many new projects and hospitals that can serve the international standard
healthcare to the patients. Apart from the better quality of services, the increasing global
competitiveness has made the services cheaper than in many other developed countries. Hence,
availability of good quality and advanced healthcare at a moderate cost attracts the international
patients to Dubai. This has an immense positive impact on the economy of Dubai. Millions of
international patients spend millions of currency on the healthcare that adds significantly in the
revenue of the UAE. Hence, the export of healthcare services has been a major source of foreign
currency of UAE. There has been inflow of foreign investment also in this sector that has not
only helped to build infrastructure but also helped to create the opportunities to provide the best
healthcare services among the entire Middle East. Hence, it can be said that medical tourism has
brought about a good improvement in the economy of Dubai.
5.3 Recommendations
There are certain ways to improve the quality and efficiency of the services, which can be
found from the suggestions that the respondents gave in the last question of the survey
questionnaire.
 Many respondents have reported that the service quality is good but not up to the Mark
that they had expected. Hence, to make people suggest about the healthcare sector of
Dubai, they must take frequent feedback from the international patients. There should be
a form which the patients must fill at the end of their treatment. According to their
feedback, the hospitals must implement the changes to amend the loopholes.

44DISSERTATION
 Some respondents had complaints about special discounts for senior citizens. The
hospitals must introduce new policies to include the senior foreign patients under their
senior citizen discount schemes. This would help to attract more senior patients.
 The lodging should be made cheaper around the hospital area. The patients often face
high accommodation charges when they come from another country and that discourages
them from visiting again. Hence, the government of Dubai must interfere in the practice
of charging unnecessary high prices for the lodging.
 The hospitals must introduce training programs to train their staff, even if they had a
good degree in nursing or hospitality. They must be trained properly to handle the needs
and demands of the foreign patients. As there would be cultural and language difference
between the people of Dubai and of any other countries, the staff of the hospitals must be
trained to deal with people from different backgrounds with different financial strength.
5.4 Limitations and future scope of the study
The limitations of this study are a few. Firstly, the researcher studied only primary data
and not the secondary data from individual hospitals. To reduce the complexity and robustness of
the research, the researcher has focused on a small sample. A small sample can have sampling
fluctuation errors and biased outcomes. Secondly, the participants were asked only close ended
questions to reduce the horizon of the study. Thus, in the future, the researcher can increase the
sample size to get more accurate results. The questionnaire should contain both the open and
close ended questions to get better and wide perspectives of the respondents. More statistical
calculations should be performed to find out the dependency of the variables. Secondary analysis
should also be conducted to get a deeper idea about the impact of medical tourism on the
healthcare services of Dubai. It will also help to find out the problems that come with extensive

45DISSERTATION
medical tourism. Thus, in the future the researchers can address the new issues that would arise
with the medical tourism.

46DISSERTATION
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Appendix
Q. 17. Would you suggest others to visit Dubai for any healthcare service in the future? If yes,
please state the reasons

52DISSERTATION

53DISSERTATION