Asia ramps up medical tourism efforts as market set to hit US$53 billion by 2028
- Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are courting medical tourists with new facilities and programmes
- A Philippine senator thinks his country could become one of the world’s top medical tourism hotspots if the government were to come up with a marketing strategy
Medical tourists, patients with passports, fliers in search of a fix; call them what you will, they number an estimated 14 million (and rising) and are increasingly being courted by nations across Asia.
For years, when Hongkongers have considered a cost-effective check-up with a bit of sightseeing thrown in, Bangkok’s Bumrungrad International Hospital has sprung to mind. But the choices across the continent have been proliferating like antibodies through blood.
Before the lockdown, medical tourists spent an estimated US$600 million a year in Thailand, putting it among the top five of the world’s most prominent markets, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
In a 2019 report, the council identified Thailand as one of the leading emerging economies (along with Türkiye, Jordan and Costa Rica) in terms of medical tourism spending.
Having had to seek inpatient care in Hat Yai, Destinations Known can confirm from personal experience that excellence in medical provision can be found beyond the capital and that those who claim private hospitals in Thailand can resemble upmarket hotels aren’t fibbing.
Eager to spread some of the spending around even further, and as part of a 20-year strategy for Thailand to become even more of a medical hub than it already is, the government there in October approved a project to build an international medical complex in Phuket, at an estimated cost of about 5 billion baht (US$133 million).
As well as having a 300-bed hospital, the Andaman International Medical Hub will serve as a training centre and include a facility for the research and development of health services.
It will also be equipped with the first advanced dental facility in southern Thailand, says an article on the Thai PBS World website.
Thailand is the envy of Philippine senator Sonny Angara, who, according to the Daily Tribune newspaper, thinks his country could become one of the world’s top medical tourism destinations if the government would only come up with a strategy to market its health professionals and facilities.
“Angara said [on October 29] the Filipino health professionals are globally competitive and well known for their hard work and dedication – making the Philippines a ‘prime candidate’ to becoming one of the world’s leading destinations for people seeking medical care overseas,” wrote the reporter.
Given that the global medical tourism market is projected to grow to US$53 billion by 2028, Angara would like to at least get the ball rolling, as the authorities have done in Indonesia, where ground was broken for the Bali International Hospital in December and similar health hubs have been hinted at for Medan and Jakarta.
One country that has been successful at marketing its health offerings – but wants to do better – is Malaysia, which was awarded “Destination of the Year” by the British-based International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) in 2020, having attracted 1.22 million healthcare travellers the year before.
According to government agency Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), the top-10 source countries of medical tourists to Malaysia are, in alphabetical order, Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Somalia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In a bid to strengthen its global reputation, MHTC has been promoting the preventative-healthcare-focused Premium Wellness Programme, “a collaborative effort with numerous top-tier private hospitals, hotels and travel companies in Malaysia which integrates comprehensive health screening with world-class hotel accommodation, leisure tour itinerary with options for healthcare travellers to add on dental aesthetics and cosmetic procedures as well as other treatments such as hepatitis C, cancer, and heart screening”, according to a press release.
We’re told that “Malaysia’s niche treatment areas include cardiology, oncology, fertility, orthopaedics, neurology, and aesthetics such as bariatric treatments” – as well as dental services. Another Land of Smiles!
South Korea and Vietnam have their own strengths but the two biggies in Asia – at least according to the American-centric MedicalTourism.com – are Japan (popular for cosmetic procedures) and Singapore, which placed third and second in the world, respectively, in the website’s Medical Tourism Index 2020-21. Canada was No 1.
Presumably relative cost isn’t weighted too heavily in those rankings.
Japanese hotel group to manage first overseas property
This week’s Tenuous Link Award goes to Daisuke Yoshihara, president of Japan’s Palace Hotel Co, which has announced plans to manage its first overseas property, in Taiwan.
First, though, the 50-year-old Ambassador Hotel Taipei will be demolished and rebuilt – just as Tokyo’s Palace Hotel was in 2009. Once the Ambassador Hotel Co has thrown up a 106-room replacement – by 2028, if all goes to plan – it will be known as the Ambassador Palace Hotel Taipei.
“It’s fitting that our first luxury project outside of Japan is in collaboration with a brand that trades on its history as an ambassador,” said Yoshihara, in a press release that explained: “After all, it was during the original Palace Hotel’s nearly half-a-century [1961-2009] tenure that 284 ambassadors from 124 countries made the journey by horse and carriage from the hotel to the Imperial Palace nearby – just across the moat – to present their credentials to the emperor.”
Hmmm… does the fact it was Taiwan’s first international-standard luxury hotel when it opened its doors in 1962 make the old Ambassador ambassadorial? Or is it just the name?
Hong Kong hotel offers ‘goalcation’ package for World Cup
No, no and thrice, no! The word “staycation” was hard to take but understandable. “Workation” was hideous but just about made sense. But “goalcation”? C’mon! There has to be a limit to such nonsense.
The offender in this case is the Harbour Grand Kowloon, which is offering what it calls the “2022 World Cup GOALcation” package.
All 64 World Cup matches will be broadcast live in every one of the hotel’s guest rooms and suites, and snack-and-drink combos are being offered along with the football, from November 20 to December 18.
We wonder, though; since a “goalcation” is being promised, can we assume costs will be refunded if all a guest gets to see are 0-0 draws? Would that be a “freecation”?
