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What steps does Dubai need to take to make sure it is the destination of choice for ‘health tourists' - the tourism sector's most exciting growth industry? Ayesha Khanna and Jaime Fitzgerald report.

The global recession has negatively impacted transshipping, tourism and real estate in Dubai, three of its primary economic sectors. To counter skepticism about its future, Dubai has been touting the Dubai Health Care City (DHCC) whose Phase I is going to be completed in 2010 as the world's new center of medical tourism and an emerging pillar of the Emirates' economy.

Indeed, given that medical tourism is a multi-billion dollar booming industry with 2-3 million patients seeking treatment in foreign countries annually, Dubai seems to be in the right place at the right time.

But medical tourism is now an increasingly competitive marketplace, with Singapore, Thailand and India leading the way among a group of over 35 countries that cater to international patients.

Several of these competitors are in the Middle East region itself with both Jordan and Lebanon being top contenders, and Abu Dhabi close behind Dubai in developing its healthcare offerings.

So what can Dubai do to secure top ranking in the industry and attract a significant percentage of the millions of medical tourists swarming the globe today? The primary attraction for medical tourists is financial savings (if they are coming from the West) and quality of care (especially if they herald from developing countries). For example, a heart bypass that costs $130,000 in the US costs only $10,000 in India. Similar cost structures exist in Thailand and Singapore as well, two other well-known providers in the region, and thus Dubai does not offer a cost advantage versus these areas.

Dubai has partnered with Harvard Medical International (HMI) to provide a renowned and trusted name as its strategic collaborator. However, HMI has, in fact, developed over 50 programs in more than 30 countries across five continents and most medical tourism hubs have alliances with similarly well-respected institutions, thus diluting the uniqueness of this partnership in Dubai.

The Dubai government needs to employ a coherent strategy leveraging customer information and analytics in order to develop a competitive edge in this industry. Other governments such as those of Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia are already collaborating with their local health industries to improve the profile and attractiveness of their medical tourism sector.

In other words, the hundreds of million dollar investments in healthcare facilities and alliances at DHCC while commendable and necessary are not enough to give Dubai an edge over its competitors, all of which are following similar paths. Only with a highly sophisticated and dynamic strategy that is both responsive to market trends and technologically innovative can Dubai become one of the top destinations for international patients, and in the process, diversify its economy and experience high growth.

Five strategies ranging from understanding and targeting customers better to using state of the art information technology to strengthen and increase the longevity of customer relations will help Dubai sustain competitive advantage on an on-going basis.

Targeted Customer Marketing and Services: identifying relevant customer segments is the key to building having a strong client base. Thousands of UAE citizens traditionally went to the US for medical treatment. However, visa barriers since September 11th meant fewer patients from the Middle East and Gulf states could pursue treatment in the US.