Samia al - Faqi
Dr. Amruk Azidi, Secretary-General of the National Council for Health Tourism, confirmed that Egypt had unique potential to be among the world ' s leading countries in the field of health tourism, noting that relying on the concept of " curative tourism " had only failed important aspects in which Egypt had a significant competitive advantage, primarily hospital tourism.
During his participation in therapeutic tourism session as part of the activities of the Conference of Medical Trade Unions 2026, he explained that the mixing of terminology had deprived Egypt of significant opportunities in the sector, suggesting that the concept of healthy tourism was more comprehensive than curative tourism, including treatment, healing and prevention, which was consistent with the concept adopted by WHO.
Egypt had historically been marked by archaeological tourism, but had not invested adequately in other tourism patterns, including cultural tourism and health tourism, stressing that correcting concepts was a key step in building a successful strategy for promoting the sector.
He added that during his chairmanship of the Committee on Tourism and Civil Aviation of the Chamber of Deputies in chapter I, a draft law had been prepared to regulate health tourism in Egypt, with the participation of the various ministries concerned, with a view to regulating the relationship between the medical and tourism sectors and to developing an institutional framework for the development of that area.
He stressed that Egyptian doctors had a distinct reputation within and outside Egypt, but relying on remedial tourism alone was not enough, as States in a position to build advanced hospitals could attract medical competencies, while Egypt ' s natural features, such as mineral eyes, sulphides, climate and geographical location, remained elements that could not be moved or competed.
He explained that healing tourism was based on four main components, namely soil, water, air and natural herbs, noting that Egypt had a great wealth of these features, as well as more than 13,000 metal and skeletal eyes that could be invested in the establishment of integrated health resorts associated with nearby hospitals to provide integrated treatment and hospital services.
He stressed that natural healing was not a substitute for modern medicine, but was part of supplementary medicine, emphasizing that the practice of such treatment must be carried out under full medical supervision, thus preserving the safety of patients and enhancing the role of the doctor.
وأشار إلى أن الدولة اتخذت خطوات مهمة في هذا الملف من خلال إنشاء المجلس الوطني للسياحة الصحية، موضحا أن المجلس يضم عددا من الوزراء، ويختص بتنظيم القطاع وتيسير التعاون بين الجهات المختلفة، دون أن يكون منافسا لمقدمي الخدمة الطبية، لافتا إلى أن قرارات المجلس ملزمة لجميع الجهات الحكومية.
وحذر صدقي من انتشار السماسرة والدخلاء في سوق السياحة الصحية، مؤكدا أن هذه الممارسات تسيء إلى سمعة مصر وتؤثر سلبا على القطاع، مشددا على على ضرورة وضع ضوابط واضحة للتسعير.
