Malaysia aims to become preferred healthcare destination

Malaysia: Malaysia Healthcare is strengthening its global proposition for preventive healthcare via strategic partnerships at the World Travel Market 2022 (“WTM”) in London.

As a nation, Malaysia eagerly encourages global citizens to prioritise preventive care by taking charge of their health and well-being.

Malaysia Healthcare is at the forefront of this phenomenon with a health system that has been evolving from curative care and treatments to preventive health and wellness.

Malaysia Healthcare’s Premium Wellness Programme

This has led to the debut of Malaysia Healthcare’s Premium Wellness Programme, an industry-wide 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.

In line with the third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations to ‘ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages’, Malaysia is committed to consistently progressing our healthcare system to empower and encourage healthier lifestyles with enhanced health screening capabilities, for everyone,” said Mohd Daud Mohd Arif, Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC).

Destination of the Year

Malaysia is a top-of-mind destination for healthcare travellers from around the world and was awarded “Destination of the Year” by UK-based healthcare travel authority International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) in 2020.

Malaysia’s strong reputation as a destination for travel and healthcare attracted 1.06 million European tourists and 1.22 million healthcare travellers in 2019 alone, with the top 10 countries of arrivals to Malaysia for healthcare travel being Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Somalia, United Kingdom, and United States.

Malaysia’s niche treatment areas

Malaysia’s niche treatment areas include cardiology, oncology, fertility, orthopaedics, neurology, and aesthetics such as bariatric treatments, as well as dental and other cosmetic services. In addition to its commitment to providing affordable, accessible, seamless, and end-to-end quality healthcare, it is also fortifying its healthcare offerings through strategic partnerships with travel agents and healthcare facilitators at regional and global levels.

Also present at WTM are the country’s tourism partners, including Tourism Malaysia and state tourism bodies from Sarawak, Sabah, Penang, Selangor, Johor, Perak and Melaka who work closely with Malaysia Healthcare, alongside leading private hospitals of Malaysia to provide a holistic and seamless healthcare experience through premium wellness packages.

MoU with SHINON Healthcare

MHTC will also be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SHINON Healthcare, a leading medical assistance and healthcare consultant which assists patients to seek treatment outside of their country and act as their local guarding in the chosen destination.

With healthcare travel being a key economic driver for Malaysia, WTM provides a synergistic platform for interested international parties to pursue business collaborations with Malaysia’s key stakeholders and realise opportunities for 2023 and beyond.

“We recognise how crucial it is to form strategic partnerships to catalyse industry recovery moving into 2023. It is key for Malaysia Healthcare to identify and join forces with other industry partners who share the same value system and commitment towards service excellence,” Mohd Daud added.

“We are at WTM London to reach out to travel agents and healthcare facilitators, whose markets have been historically coming to Malaysia for both healthcare and tourism opportunities, for collaborative opportunities and training programmes, such as the Health Facilitator Training Programme.

“Our intention is to ensure we engage the like-minded partners, such as SHINON Healthcare, in realising our ambition of offering the Best Healthcare Travel Experience.”

The Health Facilitator Training Programme

The Health Facilitator Training Programme is a capacity building effort aimed at equipping tour and travel agents with the necessary knowledge and skills to thereafter provide services to returning and potential healthcare travellers who recognise Malaysia as a preferred destination for healthcare.

“Malaysia is currently home to over 250 private healthcare facilities that are highly regulated by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) and recognised globally. The MOH oversees the ceiling rates for healthcare treatments in Malaysia, thus ensuring fair price structures for all healthcare travellers.

“As such, healthcare travellers are assured of accessible and affordable healthcare with little to no waiting time. We welcome all healthcare travellers to experience the best of healthcare travel with Malaysia Healthcare and take advantage of the seamless end-to-end services provided, from point of enquiry to post-treatment care,” said Mohd Daud.

The Malaysia Healthcare booth will be open to visitors at the Malaysia Pavilions from 7-9 November 2022 at World Travel Market at ExCel, London.

Click here for more information on Malaysia Healthcare.