Germany eyes GCC medical tourists

Germany conducts a special webinar ‘Feel Good Germany’ to promote the destination as an year-round sustainable touristic destination and also showcases Berlin’s strength in medical tourism. Yamina Sofo, Director, German National Tourist Office, shares the numbers from the Gulf region, which stands out, especially during the COVID era.

TT Bureau

Germany is promoting itself as an year-round sustainable touristic destination and also showcasing Berlin’s strength in medical tourism. “Germany as a traveller destination has the ideal ingredients for an exceptional and sustainable holiday experience and it also helps to protect our climate and the environment,” said Yamina Sofo, Director, German National Tourist Office (GNTO).

“A sustainable holiday conserves natural resources, strengthens intercultural understanding and supports regional businesses. Germany is committed to this goal and is developing an increasing number of resource saving offers that are good for the environment, as well as for the hosts and the guests. Many offers and recommendations can be found in our website, Germany.travel. In our 2022 market studies we can see the growing interest and attitudes of the guests towards environmental protection,” she added. She also shared some figures from the UAE in terms of the interest shown in sustainable travel.

Michaela Kehrer, Director, Medical Tourism, VisitBerlin, shared the offerings the city has for the GCC clientele. She reiterated that Berlin medical tourism is popular due to availability, affordability and accessibility and Germany ranks 5th in the world medical tourism destinations, mainly due to infrastructure, specialised hospitals, with multi lingual staff, who could cater to the requirements of the GCC clientele. She shared the new marketing initiatives conducted to promote Berlin as a medical touristic destination with 29 medical facilities. She concluded saying that all relevant information is in the website, www.berlin-health-excellence.com, which is currently available in six different languages.

National and international experts work in Berlin, their expertise encompassing virtually the entire spectrum of medical treatment. Patients from all over the world put their trust in Berlin’s hospitals and physicians. The number of international patients has risen by 15 per cent since 2012 and before the pandemic between 17,000 and 21,000 patients were coming to Berlin for check-ups, receive medical treatment or rehabilitation. Many hospitals and clinics in Berlin have adapted themselves to the needs of the patients from abroad. They offer multilingual service with the help of their international staff and run an international office in order to provide the patient with a most pleasant medical stay. Several hospitals feature comfort wards where the international patient is being offered greater privacy in single and double rooms.