Medical Tourism Could Help Increase Tourism Revenue

By Manik Mehta NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- A number of countries showcasing their tourism attractions at the three-day New York Times Travel Show, which ended Sunday, highlighted their medical facilities, including hospitals, the expertise of their doctors and experts, and the biggest advantage in the form of cost savings. Malaysia has, traditionally, ranked among the world’s top five medical tourism destinations that presented the most attractive opportunities for medical tourists based on the quality and affordability of care by Nuwire, an online source for news related to real estate investment and other investment opportunities, in 2008. Supported by a favourable exchange rate, lower cost of living in Malaysia and single-tier pricing for locals and foreigners, visitors to Malaysia enjoy quality healthcare at less than half the cost of comparable procedures in the United States. Malaysia’s government-led healthcare system has, no doubt, been attracting medical tourists from around the world, inspired by the prospect of effecting savings of up to 65 to 80 per cent, compared with healthcare costs in the United States. Malaysian experts point out that medical centres in Malaysia provide shorter waiting times and attractive benefit packages. “One plus point in Malaysia’s favour is that English is widely spoken in the country, making the foreign tourists feel at home,” a New York-based tour operator told Bernama. According to “Patients Beyond Borders” – Everybody’s Guide to Affordable, World-class Healthcare by Josef Woodman (August 2011) - there is a glaring difference in costs of medical treatment in the United States and Malaysia. A hip replacement, for example, would cost US$33,000 (RM118,870) in the United States and US$12,000 (RM43,220) in Malaysia; a gastric bypass would cost US$25,000 (RM90,130) in the United States and US$6,200 (RM22,330) in Malaysia. The difference is also glaringly visible in other medical surgical treatment. But, like Malaysia, other Asian countries such as India, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have also been aggressively promoting their medical facilities at international tourism shows, recognising the revenue-generating potential inherent in this sector whose importance has been boosted by exploding medical costs in a number of developed countries, particularly the United States. The four countries have already made a dent in the global medical tourism market. While Malaysia has been profiling its medical sector as an effective vehicle to attract tourists from around the world, it also faces competition in the arena of medical tourism. With a thaw in sight in US-Cuban relations, Cuba’s medical tourism sector will appear to benefit from the improving ties. Although Cuba is considered to be a developing country, it offers good and comparatively inexpensive medical costs. Indeed, many American tourists make private visits to Cuba for medical treatment though there are no direct flights between the United States and Cuba due to political constraints. However, the situation is dramatically changing and there is an improvement in atmospherics between the two countries. At the New York Times Travel Show, Cuba also showcased its medical facilities for American consumers who feel that geographical proximity to Cuba is an advantage compared to taking long-haul flights to far-flung destinations. But a strong candidate that has emerged in the medical tourism sector is Turkey which has equally modern and sophisticated medical facilities with which that country will attract tourists seeking medical treatment. Fatma Ozsoy, director of the New York-based Turkish Culture and Tourism Office, said in an interview with Bernama that Turkey received some 800,000 visitors from the United States in 2014, posting a 5.5 per cent increase over 2013. The United States is, in fact, one of the top markets for Turkey’s tourism sector. Making a pitch for Turkey’s medical tourism sector, Ozsoy said that direct air connectivity between Turkey and the United States made it a “highly attractive destination” for medical tourists. Turkish Airlines, Delta, etc. operate direct flights between the two countries. “Medical tourism is increasingly becoming an attractive source of revenue generation,” she continued. Ozsoy listed an entire catalogue of “world-class medical services” offered by Turkish hospitals and special clinics, including open heart surgery and other major surgical services to treat a variety of health problems. “Surgery at Turkish hospitals is performed at a fraction of medical costs in the United States. We have a Johns Hopkins medical centre in Istanbul. Over and above, we also have tourists coming in for plastic/cosmetic surgery, including hair transplantation and dental implant, eye cataract operation, knee and hip replacement, etc. Our major hospitals are located in Istanbul and Ankara. Our hospitals have modern and state-of-the-art equipment and special machines,” she claimed. The case of Turkey and other countries illustrates the importance of medical tourism as a major source of revenue. -- BERNAMA