PRESS STATEMENT

BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH

 5 APRIL 2012

CERTIFICATE PRESENTATION TO NEW  HEALTHCARE FACILITES REGISTERED UNDER MHTC AND LAUNCH OF MHTC WEB PORTAL

DATA ON HEALTHCARE TRAVELLERS AND REVENUE GENERATED FROM HEALTH TOURISM

For the year 2011, we have been able to generate a revenue of  RM511 million   from Health Tourism,  significantly surpassing  the set target of  RM431 million by  34.9%.  In terms of total patients, the numbers have increased by 48.5%, from 392,956 in 2010 to 583,296 in 2011. Encouragingly, there  was  a 50% increase in the number of  patients from the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, USA, China and Hong Kong and this can be attributed  to the promotional events held by  the  MHTC in these countries.

This is a clear indication that   Malaysia is gaining more recognition and popularity  as the preferred healthcare travel destination in this region. 

NEW MEMBER HOSPITALS

Initially, there were only 35 hospitals that were registered with the MHTC to promote medical tourism. This has increased to 49 last year and for  this year, the addition of 14 more healthcare facilities has brought  the total to 63, out  of which 54 are hospitals and 9 are ambulatory care facilities.  Thus, more and more healthcare facilities in Malaysia  are becoming  ready to cater to international patients. 

INVESTMENT TAX ALLOWANCE (ITA)

Another good news  is that the investment tax allowance, which was announced during the establishment of the  MHTC,  has been formally gazetted early this year by the Federal Treasury. It is hoped that with the benefits accorded through this tax rebate, more hospitals and facilities will  have the incentive to upgrade, modernise and provide better quality care  as we need to increase our capacity if we wish to attain greater growth in this vital industry.  

EASE OF ENTRY

On the part of the Government, we will do our very best to ensure ease of entry for our  overseas patients, especially in the area of visa extension for those who need to stay longer to continue with their treatment.  The MHTC will  assist  in   ensuring that your stay here is a pleasant and memorable one.   The Immigration Department has been very supportive in expediting  the visa extensions for our overseas patients.

MAJOR EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES IN  2012

This year, the MHTC plans to organize and participate in 47 promotions and marketing events locally as well as abroad, in order to attract a larger number of overseas  patients to the country.  To further enhance  the marketing efforts, two new initiatives have been proposed, one of which is  to develop an interactive web portal in different languages, whose launch  we witnessed today. The other is the establishment of a dedicated call-centre to answer any enquiries related to healthcare travel in Malaysia. It is expected to be up and running by the 3^rd quarter of 2012.

Besides this, the MHTC will also be organizing the first International Healthcare Travel Expo 2012 in November 2012. The objective of this Expo is to further enhance global awareness of Malaysia as the preferred  Healthcare Travel destination.

MHTC’S REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES  ABROAD

Indonesia and China are currently  the two major markets for Malaysia and in view of this,  the  MHTC plans to set up two  representative offices, one each in Shanghai and Jakarta.  These offices will serve as a one-stop centre for all enquiries and become the local focal point for stakeholders to network.

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS ON MALAYSIA

We have received encouraging comments on our medical tourism services in a number of  international reports.  For example, surgeonabroad.com stated that:

“Malaysia is by far one of the premier travel destinations in the field of medical tourism today, and there are plenty of good reasons for this”. (http://www.surgeonabroad.com/)

A study conducted by Your surgeryabroad.com found that:

“the highest percentage of UK medical tourists have travelled to Malaysia (8.5%) for treatment rather than any other European destinations. This is followed by Spain and Brazil (both 7%), Singapore (6.8%) and Thailand (6.6%) (http://www.yoursurgeryabroad.com)

Last but not least,  the target for this year’s revenue generated through healthcare travel has been set at RM548 million and I  believe that its attainment will be a reality, with the concerted efforts of  the  MHTC and all our key partners.