NEW YORK: Despite the sporadic attempts to portray Malaysia as a medical tourism destination, the country’s tourism planners have yet to formulate a strategic approach for this direction.The medical tourism segment holds out tremendous business potential for Malaysia’s medical institutions such as hospitals, medical research centres, specialised medical services and nutritional food operators.
These are in addition to the business opportunities for exports of medical equipment and the likes. Because of medical tourism’s commercial and tourism attributes, many experts believe that a wellcoordinated effort by the trade promotion or the tourism promotion agencies – Matrade and Tourism Malaysia — could attract greater inflow of this kind of ‘opportunities’.
Malaysia could take a leaf from other Asian countries in promoting themselves as medical tourism destinations.
Indeed, Asia is seen as a growth centre as healthcare services, buoyed by unaffordable medical services in the developed countries, particularly the European Union and the United States, are being offered by a number of countries in Asia projecting themselves as destinations where ‘you pay- less – get – more ’ services.
During the past decade, Thailand has been a key destination in Southeast Asia where foreigners have been attracted by the lowercost health services and ready access to treatment.
Thailand offers a wide array of medical services, ranging from invasive and non-invasive cardiac surgery to cosmetic surgery, dentistry and even the so-called ‘unorthodox’ medical treatment such as Chinese medicine or the ancient nature-based Ayurvedic cure.
Of course, increased international travel and the access to information readily available on the Internet have contributed to a rise in the number of travellers seeking medical treatment abroad.
According to figures provided by Thai sources, some 1.4 million visitors arrived in Thailand to seek medical treatment in 2007. Thailand earned some $1.0 billion in that year.
This figure, according to the Thai Health Ministry, is expected to triple by 2012.
According to a 2008 study by Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, some six million Americans alone will seek health care abroad by 2010.
The figure can be equally huge from Europe and other developed countries such as Japan and Australia.
European Union contributed the highest number of visitors to Thailand followed by West Asian nations and United States.
However, Thailand is eyeing China and India, whose rising middle-class are more adventurous and obsessed with foreign shopping in combination with health treatment at the destination.
Singapore, despite being a highly expensive destination and its muchsmaller size, has attracted more high-spending Indian tourists than any other Southeast Asian country. “Singapore has taken a commercially wise decision in granting Indian visitors visa-on-arrival facility,” says Archie Lee, a Singaporean heart specialist working for a Singaporean hospital, now visiting New York on what he says is a promotional drive.
But Malaysia also has good potential to profile itself as a medical tourism destination.
According to the Medical Tourism Association, Malaysia receives some 370,000 patients as medical tourists, the majority of whom comes from Indonesia, Middle East and Australia.
From 2001 to 2008, the number of foreign patients seeking treatment in Malaysia increased three fold, generating revenue of some $59 million in 2006.
According to the Association of Private Hospitals in Malaysia, the number of medical tourists will steadily rise by about 30 percent throughout 2010.
However while Malaysia has practiced medical tourism for several years, the country’s medical tourism has not been well publicised or strategically promoted. Malaysia’s attributes as a medical tourism destination is hardly known beyond Southeast Asia.
“Malaysia needs to market its attributes as an attractive medical tourism destination.
It has a good infrastructure and equally good professionals to provide first-class treatment,” says an American doctor who declined to be named.
The doctor who works in a New Jersey hospital, has visited Malaysia and knows it has good potential to become a medical tourism destination.
Malaysia’s Health Ministry, in coordination with private hospitals, is also encouraging the promotion of Malaysia as a medical tourism destination.
The ministry has selected more than 30 private hospitals to specialise in international health care as regional and global providers.
Greater emphasis is also being placed on the costsaving factor.
A cardiac-bypass surgery would cost about US$6,000 to US$7,000 in Malaysia. This is only a fraction of the costs incurred in the United States.
The Malaysian government has set up a special medical tourism unit to address the needs of international patients.
Although other initiatives such as granting long-term medical visa – from 30 days to six months – to foreign patients is a good way to boost the arrivals, Malaysia should harness the resources of the tourism and trade offices abroad. — Bernama