Wednesday September 26, 2012

Malaysia has great potential in medical tourism

KUALA LUMPUR: Medical tourism has been identified as having the potential of being a revenue generator for the country due to the response shown by foreigners who seek quality healthcare services.
Foreigners come to Malaysia for medical tourism due to the low costs of healthcare services, complemented by existence of excellent medical technology and infrastructure.
The outcome of a survey conducted by a foreign-based body reveals that heart procedures conducted in Malaysia are 10 times cheaper than those conducted in the United States.
Indonesian tourists comprise the highest number of those seeking Malaysian healthcare services followed by visitors from Arab nations.
Efforts by Malacca to boost the number of Indonesian tourists seeking healthcare services in the state appear to be bearing fruit as more Indonesians are switching their attention from Singapore to Malacca for such services.
Statistics show that in 2010, some 60% of 280,000 tourists to Malaysia went to Malacca for medical treatment while Kuala Lumpur is the destination of choice for Arab tourists. According to KPJ Healthcare (KPJ) managing director Datin Paduka Siti Sa'adiah Sheikh Bakir, Arab visitors made up 8% of tourists who sought healthcare services at the group's hospitals.
KPJ is Malaysia's largest group of private hospitals.
“Many foreigners choose Malaysia for elective medical procedures particularly cancer, orthopaedic and cosmetic treatment,” she said after launching the Arab Community Day at KPJ Tawakal Hospital here recently.
As the Arabs prefer Malaysia as their destination for shopping, Siti Sa'adiah said that it was time for Malaysia to promote the medical tourism sector aggressively. “KPJ has been actively promoting its services to the Arab community for more than 10 years now,” she said. - Bernama

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