Dr. Arun Gulani considers vision a gift that all should enjoy.
The Jacksonville ophthalmologist, who has served people from nearly 100 countries, is part of the growing medical tourism industry.
On Friday, Gulani is bringing some of his patients from Honduras and Mexico to Jacksonville as part of a community exhibition of an eye surgery center that received a patent in 2020.
Gulani quips that his perfectionist streak motivated him to create a foundation that not only advances eye care, but increases Jacksonville’s profile as a destination for medical tourism – traveling to another country for medical care.
Gulani Vision Global Foundation has provided an opportunity to work with patients from across the Americas and Europe as well as address seminars in India, Australia, The Netherlands, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and beyond.
Glasses 'are crutches'
Gulani, a native of India, moved to Florida in 1995. After a short stint on Long Island, Gulani moved to Jacksonville in 2001 to work on the faculty at the University of Florida. After more than a decade in private practice, he created the foundation in 2022 to increase his philanthropic capability.
“I just believe there is something I have, which is my burning desire to make every body see without glasses,” Gulani says. “Glasses are not accessories. They are crutches. I’m here to change that.”
Eye care is not one of the major pillars of medical tourism, yet Gulani has been at the forefront for making Jacksonville a medical tourism destination for more than a decade.
Visit Jacksonville officials say medical tourism consistently is one of the top five reasons people arrive in the River City.
Jacksonville’s combination of specialists as well health care facilities that have national reputations for noninvasive treatments are why medical tourism is a consistent fraction of the local tourism economy.
Data from Visit Jacksonville, the region's tourism marketing arm, showed nearly a third of all visitors (32%) slept in the city for at least four nights. On average, visitors spent $333 daily while in Jacksonville — a price that includes accommodations.
There may not be complete data on the size of the medical tourism industry in the United States since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2016, the Florida Chamber of Commerce estimated that medical tourism in the state is a $6 billion industry. At that time, the chamber identified medical research as an area where Florida can expand its medical tourism presence.
Medical tourism does not fluctuate seasonally
Closer to home, Visit Jacksonville estimates nearly 200,000 hotel room nights in Duval County this calendar year were due to medical tourism. That figure is about 4% of the county’s overall room nights; however, Visit Jacksonville chief marketing officer Katie Mitura says it is business that does not seasonally fluctuate.
“There is nothing greater you can ask for than a consistent base of business,” Mitura says. “Medical tourism is a consistent base of business. … The consistency of medical tourism, if it fell off it would be a huge detriment to the local tourism economy.”
Alongside its charitable procedures, Gulani Vision Global Foundation trains eye surgeons from across the world in Jacksonville. Gulani says the nonprofit also expands research into eye care.
“Medical tourism would be the most simple conduit where we can raise beyond cultures and cultural differences and care for everybody,” Gulani says. “Every Friday before they leave — we call it Flyback Friday — all these patients from different cultures, different professions, they sit across a big table and share their stories. How they came here. What happened to them. … Then, we take a picture in the front (of my office) and they fly.”
Fluctuating health care costs have not deterred optimism by Gulani and Visit Jacksonville about the health of the local medical tourism industry.
“I think we will see the same consistency over the year,” Mitura says. “With us adding additional medical facilities, I think it has medical tourism the potential to show some growth in the coming years.”
