MALAYSIA :IN addition to being a tourist destination known for its cultural, historical and natural attractions, Malaysia is starting to make its mark as an affordable yet sophisticated healthcare hub in Asia.

Joining the ranks of their counterparts in Singapore and Thailand, many local private hospitals now have counters, staff, medical packages and special arrangements (such as accommodation and travel) to cater to foreign patients.

The efforts seem to have paid off as the number of foreigners visiting the country for medical tourism has more than tripled since 2003 to hit a total of 341,288 in 2007.

Medical tourism receipts have quadrupled to RM253.84mil during the same period. For the first nine months of 2008, over 282,000 foreigners came to Malaysia for medical treatment, generating a revenue of about RM222.25mil – a 16% increase from the year before.

According to the 2007 figures, about 72% of the foreign patients were from Indonesia, 10% from Singapore, 5% from Japan, 3% from Europe and 3% from India.

Penang, Malacca and Johor Baru are the favourite destinations. Currently, 35 private hospitals are earmarked to participate in the promotion of medical tourism in the country.

Slower growth

Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM) board member and chairman of the committee on database and medical tourism, Datuk Dr K. Kulaveerasingam, is projecting a 15% increase (compared with the past average of 20%-25%) in medical tourism receipts this year as fewer foreigners are expected to visit the country for medical treatment.

“Due to the economic slowdown, some medical tourists may postpone treatments which are not serious such as cosmetic surgery and even hip and knee surgeries,” he says.

Island Hospital Penang director and Penang Health Association chairman Datuk Dr Chan Kok Ewe expects flat growth for medical tourism for the group this year due to the slowdown and relative market saturation, especially in traditional markets.

“Although we think the outlook is less encouraging, we should use this slack period to prepare for the next growth phase. To do this, we have to cultivate new markets with a structured strategy and guided investments,” he says.

He stresses that medical tourism has to be developed as a nationally committed project, which consists of decent national budgets rather than what individual private hospitals can afford to spend. “We have to think in terms of a national instead of private enterprise,” he says.

According to Chan, the majority of medical tourists visiting Penang are of Indonesian origin, who select Penang because of its proximity (to north Sumatra), convenience of travel, and ease of cultural and language adaptation.

Gross receipts for members of the Penang Health Association totalled RM156.53mil in 2007 and RM166.15mil in 2008. About 15% to 30% of the members’ patients comprise medical tourists.

The association comprises seven private hospitals in the state that jointly promote health tourism.

New markets

As part of the plan to expand market reach, Kulaveerasingam says Malaysia is targeting new markets such as Vietnam, Cambodia, the Middle East, United States, Europe and Canada.

APHM is collaborating with the Tourism Ministry to publish in July the Malaysian edition of a book series called Patients Beyond Borders, written by Josef Woodman, to promote Malaysia as a medical tourism destination globally with special focus on the US.

Kulaveerasingam also stresses the importance of branding for the country’s medical tourism industry to provide a better platform to market and promote the product.

“We are working on a video on Malaysian healthcare that can be used when we promote Malaysia overseas. We are also coming out with brochures that take a more holistic view of Malaysian healthcare to appeal to medical tourists,” he says.

He adds that despite the challenging economic climate, medical tourism still has a pretty positive outlook boosted by new market penetration.

According to Abacus international, Asia’s medical tourism industry is expected to be worth at least US$4bil by 2012.

Research also shows that a medical tourist spends double the amount of normal tourist – US$362 compared with US$144 per day.

Competition buster

Industry players together with government agencies will have to work hard to ensure that Malaysia can compete with the likes of Singapore and Thailand, which have made a name for themselves in the medical tourism industry.

Sunway Medical Centre chief operating officer Ch’ng Lin Ling points out that the Health Ministry and Tourism Malaysia will have to team up to promote the image of Malaysia as a tourist hub for leisure, travel and healthcare.

It is also important for tour agents to further promote Malaysia in travel and healthcare, she adds.

To Sime Darby Healthcare chief executive officer Elaine Cheong Pek Yin, one of the ways for Malaysia to better compete with Singapore and Thailand is to have a central government agency headed by an expert on dynamic medical and healthcare marketing and promotion.

This can boost the efforts to brand Malaysian healthcare in a coordinated and systematic manner.

“Medical travel to Malaysia should be seriously acknowledged as a vital source of tourism revenue for the country.

“Hence, concerted efforts must be made to ensure that healthcare providers in Malaysia are internationally accredited and that they subscribe to a high level of clinical and service excellence, besides having superior technology and patient-oriented facilities,” she says.

Sime Darby Healthcare comprises Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya, Sime Darby Specialist Centre Megah and Sime Darby College of Nursing & Health Sciences.

Medical tourism hub

OSK Research remains optimistic about the medical tourism industry in Malaysia and believes the industry will remain robust and resilient despite the slowdown.

For one thing, the majority of medical tourists to Malaysia seek curative medical treatment instead of procedures for aesthetic purposes.

Therefore, such patients will seek treatment regardless of whether there is a recession or not, whereas those considering treatment for aesthetic reasons may defer their decision, OSK says.

“Given that Indonesia accounts for the biggest number of medical tourists to Singapore and Malaysia, the economic slowdown might result in some of Indonesian patients seeking treatment in Malaysia instead of Singapore, due to the cheaper costs,” it notes.

OSK says Malaysia also has the potential to steal market share from Thailand as the political turmoil in Thailand has resulted in a significant drop in the numbers of general and medical tourist arrivals.

By ELAINE ANG