Medical Tourism in Jordan

The Kingdom of Jordan is in the midst of a nationwide push to become a competitor in the blossoming medical tourism industry. It's easily the most tourist-friendly country in the Middle East, making it easy to believe in the success of medical tourism here.

In 2004, the ministry of health launched an agenda that hopes to see a billion dollars in annual revenue by 2010. Jordan hopes to be the premier medical tourism destination in all of the Middle East by the end of the current decade.

Currently, a government office at the Queen Alia International Airport helps incoming medical tourists make the proper connections. Immigration documents are supposedly processed more quickly here and free shuttle services to hospitals are even provided.

A total of 56 hospitals in Jordan are involved in the push for medical tourist dollars. The majority of these are currently running at full capacity, and huge sums of money from private investors and government sectors are being invested into the expansion and further development of these existing facilities as well as in providing world-class training (usually abroad) for Jordanian doctors.

Most medical tourists are scheduled for kidney replacements, orthopedic procedures, neurological operations and heart surgeries. Dental work is also popular with incoming tourists. All in all, the facilities are increasingly state-of-the-art and yet prices are still rock bottom—in many cases 10 percent of standard US prices.

Even so, most inbound medical tourists are arriving from nearby countries like Libya, Iraq, Sudan and the Gulf States. If Jordan is going to realize its goals of dominating the Middle Eastern health scene, then it will have to overcome some stiff competition from Turkey and Egypt.

With that in mind, recent advances have made traveling to Jordan for medical care easier. The ministry of health has done everything in its power to ensure quick and easy connections to its world-class facilities.