State assistant minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Joniston Bangkuai in discussion with members of the protem Sabah Health and Wellness Tourism Council during a meeting earlier this week in Kota Kinabalu.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Health and Wellness Tourism Council (SHWTC) plans to promote the state as a destination for medical tourism.
The council's pro-tem chairman Dr Anil Kumar said they hoped to work with Sabah Tourism Board to promote the state as a medical tourism hub.
“We have the infrastructure and facilities. It will be a new market as far as tourism is concerned for Sabah, bringing high revenue.
“We want to collaborate with the Sabah Tourism Board on how we can effectively advertise this area and attract people from neighbouring countries, particularly the BIMP-EAGA region, to seek health and wellness treatment in Sabah," said Dr Anil, who is Medisinar managing director.
Dr Anil said the council also invited Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who chairs the Sabah Tourism Board (STB), to be its advisor.
Bangkuai assured that STB would work closely with members of the local medical community to make Sabah a destination for healthcare tourism.
“Other states, like Penang and Melaka, already have their state healthcare tourism councils, so the move is timely. This is also in line with STB's efforts to attract high-end travellers.
“We've had success in other sectors of tourism, such as rural tourism, and there's no reason why Sabah can't do the same in medical tourism.
“We must work closely together to develop strategic plans to promote healthcare services here, and look at prospective target markets, especially when Nusantara is set to become Indonesia’s new capital," he said.
STB chief executive officer Noredah Othman said the Sabah Tourism Board has started promoting its medical tourism through the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council.
“Sabah Tourism Board will be happy to collaborate with SHWTC to conduct a workshop for tourism players to increase their awareness on the offerings for medical tourism in the state," she added.
