AMMAN, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced on Thursday that Jordan is a regional center and destination for medical tourism in the Middle East.
The announcement was made by its Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili during the opening of the UNWTO Medical and Hospital Tourism Conference at the Dead Sea, according to a statement by the Jordan Tourism Board.
Jordan's Tourism Minister Makram Qaisi said that the announcement is a source of pride through recognizing the status of the kingdom on the map of the region and the world.
Jordan has received nearly one million patients from 71 countries over the past five years, the minister noted, adding highly qualified medical and pharmaceutical workers as well as affordable services are among Jordan's advantages.
He said the number of physicians working in Jordan is 30,000, and with 26.6 doctors per 10,000 people in 2021, it has the highly doctors-to-population ratio worldwide, exceeding the global average of 17.2 doctors per 10,000 people.
Meanwhile, the nurses-to-population ratio stood at about 35.2 per 10,000 in the same year, outperforming the global average of 28.7 per 10,000 people, he added.
What's more, the kingdom is rich in medical resorts, such as the Dead Sea, Maen, Himmeh, and Wadi Rum, in addition to the availability of modern medical devices and equipment at radiology centers, laboratories, oncology centers, nuclear medicine and others, he added.
For his part, Jordan's Health Minister Firas Hawari said that health care and medical tourism are among the priorities of economic growth in Jordan.
