MASholidays, the travel arm of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), aims to fly 200,000 medical tourists here to seek treatment in the next two years.
MAS executive vice president, commercial strategy, Datuk Dr Amin Khan, said Malaysia has emerged as the most popular destination for medical tourism in Association of South-East Asian Nations due to competitive prices offered by the sector.
"Malaysia boasts a high number of specialists with extensive international qualifications," he told reporters after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tropicana Medical Centre (TMC) here Thursday.
He said under the MOU, TMC would offer MASholidays customers different types of executive health screening packages such as basic, wellness, elite and premier at attractive rates.
"The airline will then incorporate the programmes into an all-inclusive travel, accommodation and tour packages to be introduced to international holidaymakers," he said.
Group chief executive officer of TMC Life Sciences Bhd, Francis Lim Poon Thoo, said the first-of-its-kind partnership between the private hospital and the airline marked a significant development in TMC's effort to reach out to medical tourists from around the globe.
"This is in line with the government's effort to develop Malaysia into a global medical tourism hub. We are confident that international holidaymakers would take this opportunity to experience Malaysia while ensuring that their health is well taken care," he said.
Lim said the 180-bed TMC would focus on patients from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Cambodia.
Currently, there are at least 35 hospitals in Malaysia that are being geared towards medical tourism. All are accredited locally by the Malaysian Medical Society for Quality of Health and are licensed by the Malaysian Ministry of Health.
According to Malaysia Medical Tourism Outlook 2012 research report, the Malaysian medical tourism industry's revenue was anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 16 per cent during 2011-2014.
Medical tourism is a provision of `cost effective` private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical or other forms of specialized treatment. It has become a common form of vacationing, and covers a broad spectrum of medical services. It mixes leisure, fun and relaxation together with wellness and healthcare. Thanks a lot.
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