Untapped potential
Dr Ashraf said the group was launching the centre with the support of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), following its research which identified Abu Dhabi as a potential hot spot for health and wellness tourists.
“There are a lot of Emirati people going overseas for treatment and health-related issues and spending a very large amount of money and there’s a great demand for having these services available locally.
That’s why our company decided our first flagship centre for integrated medicine, which again is a new concept, would be in Abu Dhabi. The capital is a world-class destination already, and the component we thought would further strengthen that would be wellness and health tourism.”
DNA Health Corp expects 60-70% of its client base will come from the UAE and surrounding GCC countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.
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“We also expect a lot of utilisation from such guests from Russia and the central Asian states. A lot of people in Germany and France are sensitised to the health and wellness concept and will come to a sunny place like Abu Dhabi,” said Dr Ashraf.
Mangrio added: There will definitely be an impact with the opening of DNA Health Centre and we believe it will drive incremental tourism to Saadiyat Island.
“The services offered by DNA Health Corp are something new and will attract a new target audience to both our facilities,” he added.
According to Dr Ashraf, the nearest competitor to the new Abu Dhabi centre is in Europe. “The current places where they have such facilities are in Europe, Switzerland, Spain, France...so those are the areas that are currently being used by guests from all over the world, not just the GCC. Our strategy is to get a major share of that to come to Abu Dhabi.
“There’s a huge market. The wellness tourism industry currently is a US $112 billion per annum industry. It’s not being tapped into at all and I think our distinguishing factor is number one that we have all US trained and certified clinical and other related exports, and that’s a major factor that we believe gives us the edge,” said Dr Ashraf.
The story in short
As demand grows for wellness and health centres in the region, so are guest expectations and many GCC nationals are travelling overseas to seek out the latest trends in treatments.
America’s DNA Health Corp believes the market is untapped in the region and hopes to cash in on the demand with a new facility on Saadiyat Island. The opening is expected to have a positive impact on surrounding hotels by attracting a new profile of guest to stay for a minimum of four nights.
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