Medical tourism growing in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is in the top three ranking as the preferred destination for healthcare travel in Asia.

The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) said the country is however behind Thailand and Singapore in terms of reputation for high quality healthcare, accessibility and affordability.

MHTC CEO Sherene Azura Ali said more medical tourists are expected to seek treatment in the country, especially with Budget 2016 introducing incentives like the e-visa by mid-2016.

MHTC is a body set up in 2009 to develop and promote the country’s healthcare travel industry and is working together with 68 participating medical providers from the peninsula to promote global awareness on Malaysia’s world-class healthcare services.

Last year, the country saw revenues amounting to RM730mil from healthcare travel receipts from more than 880,000 arrivals.

Among the most sought-after treatments are cardiology, orthopaedics, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), neurology, oncology, dentistry, cosmetic surgery and health screenings.