KOREA Tourism Organisation (KTO) recently hosted a Korea Medical Tourism Evening at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai, UAE, in cooperation with ALTA Travel Agency.

This event provided more than 150 participants with the chance to discover a variety of Korean medical tourism products, as well as showcasing the high level of technology in the country and the field of Korean traditional medicine.

Korea, generally regarded as an industry-oriented country, is one of the fastest-growing destinations in the medical tourism sector, welcoming more than 60,000 medical tourists from across the globe last year. The level of medical expertise in Korea is known to be comparable to America, particularly in the areas of prostate diseases, diabetes/obesity treatment and plastic surgery.

To make Korea more attractive to Arab patients, the country has made successful inroads into personalised service for Muslim/Islamic patients, implementing guidelines which include aspects of clinical care, food services and religious observances and visiting arrangements. ALTA in Dubai has developed some attractive medical packages to Korea for Gulf tourists in association with various hospitals.

Charm Lee, president of the KTO, said: “We are fully aware that increasing mutual understanding and having healthy discourse regarding culture and religion are key components in serving the medical tourism industry. Medical skills and technologies constitute aspects where understanding and cooperation between Korea and the Middle East can be encouraged. The sharing of medical knowledge and technology is yet another opportunity for cooperation between us.”

The KTO, with the support of the best hospitals in Korea, also unveiled its plans to provide free medical treatment to underprivileged Arab children as part of its ‘Korea Medical tourism - Giving Back’ initiative.