MALAYSIAN ROBUST MEDICAL TOURISTS

Malay girls

Old Kuala Lumpur road scene

MALAYSIA: Study says medical tourism to remain robust

Medical tourism will remain robust and resilient despite the economic slowdown, according to the Malaysian investment and research group OSK Research.

The majority of medical tourists to Malaysia seek curative medical treatment instead of aesthetic purposes, it said in its research note.

“Based on this fact, we believe demand for medical tourism in Malaysia will remain resilient as patients with a medical condition will seek treatment regardless of whether there is a recession or not, although those considering treatment for aesthetic reasons may defer their decision,” the OSK study said.

OSK Research predicted Malaysia could gain from the slowdown given the competitive advantage over the main competitors, namely Singapore and Thailand.

Since Indonesians formed the biggest number of medical tourists to Singapore and Malaysia, the slowdown might result in some Indonesian patients seeking treatment in Malaysia rather than in Singapore because of the former has cheaper cost.

“We believe Malaysia will always have a price advantage over Singapore unless Singaporean players adjust their pricing drastically - which we believe is highly unlikely, due to the higher labour and operating costs,” it noted.

Also, it noted that the recent turmoils in Thailand provided an opening for Malaysia to raise its profile as an alternative destination for medical travel.

“Our discussions with the major players in Bangkok indicate that they have not seen any sign of recovery in the sector as a large number of its foreign markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia are still warning their citizens against travelling to Thailand due to high political risk,” OSK Research said.

Nevertheless, Thailand expects the recovery to come in the second half of 2009 once the political landscapestabilises, it added.

“This situation offers great opportunities for Malaysia to capture some of Thailand's market share in medical tourism given that Malaysia offers comparable services at competitive prices," the OSK study stated.

Malaysia is also eager to woo medical tourists from the Gulf. Apart from the low cost of procedures in Malaysia, the government offers discounted tickets to family members of patients travelling to the country.

Syed Muhadzir Jamallulil, head of Tourism Malaysia in Dubai said: "There are a lot of facilities in Malaysia that can take care of the medical needs of travellers from the Middle East. They are much cheaper than the Gulf."

Malaysia is fast emerging as a value-for-money destination for medical tourism, thanks to its world-class health and medical facilities, said Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific healthcare practice consultant Tham Lin Hui.

“The growing awareness about medical tourism in Malaysia will attract more foreign patients to seek treatment in the country,” she added.