Oman

Omani nationals have free access to the destination’s public healthcare, but expatriates do not, which allows for a private healthcare sector to coexist in the destination. Expatriates often seek healthcare at private hospitals and clinics around the destination and will typically pay out of pocket. Public healthcare is generally perceived as high quality for a middle-income destination, which in turn raises the quality of the private sector. Overall, this is a net gain for Oman. Oman has a growing opportunity in the medical travel market – a government initiative called Health Vision 2050 hopes to place an increased emphasis on health research and healthcare, and Muscat’s annual Medical Tourism Exhibition & Conference is a potential pathway to a market beachhead.

The high quality of Oman’s private sector, as well as its evolving tourism sector, gives the country a big opportunity to compete in the medical tourism industry for incoming patients. Oman is a huge riser in this edition of the MTI. Its government initiatives and rising tourism profile have spurned a dramatic lift since the previous MTI, when it ranked 35th. Currently, it ranks fourth in the world for Uniform Culture and fifth for Medical Tourism, with top-15 marks in Patient Experience and Accreditation, too.

*Based on the 2020 – 2021 Global MTI (Medical Tourism Index) Report published by the Medical Tourism Association.*