Health and medical tourism, despite its growing popularity, now cannot become the basis for the formation of a mass tourism product, director general of Natalie Tours Ukraine Oleksiy Korneyev has said at a press conference.

"Health tourism is developing, but it is still a niche and not a mass product. Therefore we are not forming offers in this segment," he said.

At the same time, the manager for the development of the state tourism agency for the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, Hanna Belik, said that this emirate is already forming health tourism programs based on its thermal spas for the markets of Europe.

"We hope that this could be in demand in Ukraine and Russia," she said.

In addition, Belik noted that the average sum a Ukrainian tourist spends on vacation in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah "is increasing" and now it stands at about $300 per room per night with half board. At the same time, this increase is not due to the rising cost of tours and extension services that Ukrainian tourists purchase in the emirate.

According to Korneyev, Natalie Tours Ukraine in 2012 sent 45,000 tourists on vacation to the emirates, and plans in 2013 to increase this figure by 20%.