HomeNewsBeritaBusinessLifestyleOpinionWorldSportsPropertyEducationCarzillaGalleryVideosAccelerator

MHTC targets RM2.4bil revenue from health tourism

-

The health tourism sector is anticipated to contribute an economic spillover of over RM9.6 billion to other industries, says the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council.

0
Shares
Total Views: 1
Free Malaysia Today
In 2023, Malaysia recorded more than one million health tourist arrivals, which is an increase of over 15% compared to 2022. (Unsplash pic)

PETALING JAYA:
The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) aims to generate RM2.4 billion in revenue from the health tourism sector this year, contributing an economic spillover of about RM9.6 billion to other industries.

Its CEO Dr Mohamed Ali Abu Bakar said this includes industries such as tourism, hospitality, transportation, and many others.

He said that this confidence was based on data collected up to November 2023, when the industry achieved a revenue of over RM1.92 billion, in addition to the federal government’s move to grant up-to-30 days visa-free entry into Malaysia for citizens from China and India, which was effective Dec 1 last year.

“This means, the total amount of RM1.92 billion not only exceeded the initial target for 2023 but also reached the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Industry Blueprint 2021-2025 target of RM2 billion, two years earlier.

“This will also set a new record for the highest achievement for the industry, surpassing the best achievement before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 of RM1.7 billion,” he told Bernama.

He said his team is optimistic that the country will see more medical tourist arrivals with the visa-free entry decision, given that China and India are also among the countries that contribute to the number of tourists in that category.

The visa-free entry decision also helps make it easier to facilitate the planning and processing of treatment or healthcare services, reduces the cost of applying for a visa, and helps health tourists return to get a second opinion from specialists or for follow-up treatment and other treatment.

“The implementation of this visa facility is certainly timely because many countries, including China, have relaxed the conditions for entering and exiting their countries following the transition to the endemic phase of Covid-19 which started two years ago,” he said.

Ali said that over the past decade, Malaysia has been known as a destination for health tourists in the Asia-Pacific region.

He said Malaysia has recorded more than one million health tourist arrivals in 2023, which is an increase of more than 15% compared to the total arrivals in 2022 of more than 850,000 people.

“Indonesia is the highest contributor of health tourists to Malaysia, with a percentage of between 70% and 80% of the total number of such tourists.

“Among the other countries contributing to medical tourism in Malaysia are Bangladesh, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the US and the UK,” he said.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.