Data from the Private Hospitals Association indicates a 16.5% growth in the number of visitors coming to Jordan for medical treatment during the first five months of this year, reaching approximately 92,776 tourists from the start of the year until the end of May, compared to 79,620 tourists during the same period in 2024.

The return of medical tourism is an important indicator of the recovery of a significant type of tourism.

There are various types of tourism including leisure, educational, conferences, adventure, cultural, festivals, and others.

It may be useful to establish a dedicated electronic portal for issuing visas to those wishing to visit Jordan for treatment purposes, linked to the Private Hospitals Association, the Medical Council, the Ministry of Health, and primarily the Ministry of Interior, which has made great strides in transitioning to electronic visas, complemented by electronic portals at airports and in the future at land and sea crossings.

Revitalizing medical tourism requires exceptional efforts from all relevant parties, especially enhancing trust in the medical sector and strict control over costs and prices, as competition is intense and was among the reasons for the decline in medical tourism as acknowledged by the Private Hospitals Association itself.

Initially, I reserve judgment on the term ‘tourist’ since a patient coming for treatment is not like a tourist seeking relaxation; perhaps the description allowed treating them like tourists who want to spend money and find those who exploit this desire.

The sector has faced many criticisms, some valid and others driven by local and international competition, but their invalidity does not negate the need for monitoring and scrutiny, away from exaggeration.

Many reports have talked about some exploitative practices starting from the smallest link to the largest, such as taxi drivers who take patients to specific hotel apartments for a commission, which in turn ignores other options except for certain hospitals, centers, or doctors for a commission, hospitals that provide lists of specific doctors for a commission, and doctors who recommend specific treatment materials – such as heart stents – in exchange for profit sharing.

In defense of these violations, the Ministry of Health and private sector entities repeatedly state that there is an attack on medical tourism by some groups in certain countries through unfair competition, and that “the interests of some hospitals in those countries have been harmed due to Jordan’s good medical reputation, and they are striving to undermine it in this context.” Assuming such responses have merit, the counter-question is why such gaps are left open for attackers to exploit?

The medical tourism sector generates twice the revenue of traditional tourism in terms of income, number of establishments, and rooms, which hospitals themselves describe as hotel-like, classified from three to five stars. According to consistent statistics, the income from medical tourism is estimated at about $1.2 billion annually, equivalent to half of the total tourism revenue, consisting of medical returns and what private hospitals, commercial and service sectors, other facilities, resorts, and treatment and recovery centers achieve.

Boosting medical tourism requires more than just facilitating procedures or finding new markets; it needs a comprehensive review of the pillars and means of attracting this type of tourism, at least through fixed understandings among all concerned parties.