Trump's policies a tough pill for American medical tourism agencies

 16-Mar-17, Arab Health

With President Trump enforcing a ban against citizens from several Arab countries from entering the US, it has raised questions amongst local healthcare organisations of the long-lasting impact this will have on outbound medical tourism in the Middle East.

Image: Arab Health

Until now, tourists from the Middle East represented a large proportion of the American tourism market, with 2.6 million tourists visiting the US in 2014. These numbers have collapsed after the ban. Bookings in the Middle East fell by 37.5 percent and by 80 percent in the countries directly affected by the ban.

There is no doubt going to be a knock-on effect for medical tourism. The nationalities outlined in the ban constitute a significant share of medical tourism business.

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