Health retreats and medical tourism have become big business around the world, with places such as South Africa, Eastern Europe and Thailand enjoying a lucrative trade providing treatments and services. Now one resort in Dubai is trying to find a place for itself in a market expected to generate more than US$1.6 billion (Dh5.88bn) in Dubai by the end of this year.
Talise Spa at Al Qasr Hotel has just hired Dr Elisabeth Makk, an internal medicine specialist and cardiologist, to oversee Talise Spa Wellness Experiences. She is offering personal health assessments for hotel guests, visitors and local residents.
So far, around 70 per cent of those coming to the facility are from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, both Emiratis and expatriates. They come for routine health checks, for preventative medicine and for blood tests to look at areas such as liver and kidney function, as well as for help with weight loss. The spa, which is approved by both the Ministry of Health and the Dubai Health Authority, will soon be offering more tailored one- and two-week packages as well as weekend breaks.
Patients are looking for something different, says Makk. "People are sick of being prescribed drugs all the time, whether it's painkillers, antidepressants or antibiotics," she says. "People want help with making lifestyle changes and natural therapies. You can instead give probiotics, herbal teas. There are alternatives."
Makk combines conventional medicine with alternative therapies, from destress massage to herbal supplements, and patients come back regularly to be monitored. "People feel better knowing they can come back and someone is there to help," says Dr Makk.
Each patient has an individually designed programme, whether it be for dietary changes or exercise. "If a person tells me they hate running, I am not going to tell them to go and run for 20 minutes each day," says Makk.
For those staying at the five-star resort on holiday, there is no excuse not to get active. Facilities include the country's first high-altitude chamber, used for high-intensity training or preparations for high-altitude climbs, as well as state-of-the-art gyms, lap pools and a climbing wall.
Wellness holidays may be relatively new to the UAE, but Karina Stewart, a co-founder of Kamalaya, a wellness retreat with its own in-house doctor on the Thai island of Koh Samui, says they have boomed in Thailand in recent years.
"There has been, and continues to be, a shift in attitudes to holidays. These days, as life seems to be speeding up and getting more stressful, many people are realising they need to invest in their health and work-life balance," she says. "It is no longer enough to escape the pressure, distractions and demands of life. Many people are looking for holidays that can help them to improve their health and the way they experience life."
At the retreat, which opened in 2005, 45 per cent of its clientele focus on detoxification packages, 22 per cent on stress and burnout packages and 10 per cent on ideal-weight programmes.
But Dr Hassan Galadari, an assistant professor in the medical school at UAE University, says such approaches to health are not without pitfalls. "It can be a Pandora's box," he says. He says the patient becomes a "consumer", and if they go on holiday seeking treatments, there is no continuity of care nor can there be consistency in monitoring conditions for people whose stay in a country is brief.
"My main concern is that they order a hoard of blood tests but a lot of them are completely unnecessary, done only for commercial reasons," he says. "What are you going to do with these tests, that might show things like high sodium levels? For some people, these results can be normal and do not mean it is dangerous."
Gail Clough, the founder of www.dubaisurgery.com, has been bringing patients from the UK and around the GCC to Dubai for cosmetic surgery for the past eight years. She says the combination of the city's luxury hotels and its reputation for high-tech, clean hospitals has made it a popular destination for both men and women seeking treatments from facelifts to liposuction. Patients get consultations, surgery and follow-ups during their two-week stay from Ministry of Health-accredited surgeons. "I have to have seen dozens of their procedures before they go on my books," Clough says. "Ministry accreditation is the least I demand. They have to be brilliant at what they do."
She says price is not an issue: those coming want to pay more for what they see as higher-quality treatment than the alternatives in Thailand, South Africa and the Eastern Bloc countries. "Even when the recession hit, it was bolstered by the fact that men had been starting to take to surgery," she says. "It took the blow away from the recession."
mswan@thenational.ae
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Afghanistan Premier League - at a glance
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Fixtures:
Tue, Oct 16, 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Kabul Zwanan; Wed, Oct 17, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Nangarhar Leopards; 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Paktia Panthers; Thu, Oct 18, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Kandahar Knights; 8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers; Fri, Oct 19, 8pm: First semi-final; Sat, Oct 20, 8pm: Second semi-final; Sun, Oct 21, 8pm: final
Table:
1. Balkh Legends 6 5 1 10
2. Paktia Panthers 6 4 2 8
3. Kabul Zwanan 6 3 3 6
4. Nagarhar Leopards 7 2 5 4
5. Kandahar Knights 5 1 4 2
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
A Prayer Before Dawn
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai
Three stars
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
MATCH INFO
First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs
Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets
Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13
