Emirates has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Medical Tourism Association (MTA), the world’s leading non-profit body for the medical tourism industry, at Arabian Travel Market 2026. The agreement makes Emirates the MTA’s preferred airline partner for medical and wellness travellers and marks a deliberate move by the carrier to treat healthcare travel as a structured commercial segment rather than an incidental one.
The partnership targets travel corridors across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, where demand for cross-border healthcare is growing. Emirates will work with MTA to map key markets, develop tailored travel solutions and build a customer experience designed around the specific needs of patients, referring physicians, insurers and employers. Dubai’s position as a healthcare and medical tourism hub, combined with Emirates’ network of close to 140 destinations, underpins the logic of the pairing.
“Healthcare is among the most important reasons people travel internationally and is growing significantly. Our newly established partnership with MTA positions Emirates where premium demand is heading, and our network and superior products both onboard and on the ground provide a natural platform to serve these travellers. The insights we gain from working with MTA will also help us develop product propositions that are genuinely tailored to how these travellers plan, book and experience their journeys,” Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer said in a statement.
“Hospitals and clinics have spent years trying to reach international patients one relationship at a time. What changes with this partnership is that the demand now has a path, from a global airline to an accredited provider, through Better by MTA. The providers who meet the standard will be the ones that path leads to,” Jonathan Edelheit, CEO and Founder of Medical Tourism Association added.
On the standards side, Emirates and MTA will collaborate with providers accredited by Global Healthcare Accreditation (GHA), the sector’s accreditation body, on thought leadership and market intelligence. The partnership also supports Emirates’ stated ambition to become the world’s first GHA-accredited airline.
Practically, the two organisations will explore using MTA’s platform to help travellers find accredited providers, coordinate treatment and travel, and pay across borders through an integration with Mastercard. MTA’s network spans more than 500,000 healthcare providers, employers, insurers and industry leaders, with direct government relationships in over 100 countries.
