April 2016 – Malaysia Healthcare is participating in the 16th Kazakhstan International Tourism Fair (KITF) from 20-22 April, at the Atakent International Exhibition Centre under the Malaysia Pavilion in Almaty, to showcase its unique qualities as a leading destination in global healthcare travel. Malaysia’s participation in KITF marks its presence for the 15th time this year.
Malaysia’s medical tourism has grown from strength to strength. In recent months, the country received a string of awards for its excellence in healthcare travel services, among which are: “Medical Travel Destination of the Year” at the Medical Travel Awards 2015 by the International Medical Travel Journal, “Best Country in the World for Healthcare” by International Living’s Global Retirement Index 2014-2016, and “Top Country for Muslim Travel in 2015” by Master Card-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index.
“Healthcare in Malaysia is extremely accessible and competitively affordable, but most importantly, it is of high quality, thanks to stringent regulations by the Ministry of Health Malaysia. The industry is keenly governed to ensure standards in quality and safety are consistently upheld; delivering the best in quality care to all patients is and will always remain our top priority,” commented Kavitha Mathuvay, Regional Director for Central Asia with the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC).
The country’s awards-winning healthcare services, paired with its world-renowned tourism features, make it an increasingly popular destination among international health seekers. Over 850,000 health travellers sought Malaysian healthcare services in 2015, also taking advantage of the country’s reputation as a leading global halal hub, where Muslim-friendly hospital services and facilities are easy to come by.
KITF 2016 represents Kazakhstan’s largest travel event for tourism, attracting over 4,300 attendees and 475 exhibiting companies from 43 countries across the globe in 2015, including China, Germany, South Korea, Malaysia, Turkey and the UAE. Malaysia Healthcare’s participation in the event is part of its mission to establish a stronger brand presence in Central Asia, particularly in Kazakhstan, which saw over 1,300 Kazakhstani patients with an average growth of 29% in health travellers to Malaysia between 2011 and 2015.
“Last year, we received over 15,000 Kazakhstani tourists. Malaysia’s world-class healthcare offerings and the current, robust development of tourism and travel facilities between our two countries make Malaysia a natural destination of choice for health seekers. As such, we are delighted to be working with MHTC to showcase more of Malaysia’s amazing destination propositions for travellers from Kazakhstan and all over the world,” said Norliza Md. Zain, Tourism Malaysia’s Director for CIS countries.
The Malaysia Healthcare booth within the Malaysia Pavilion at KITF 2016 features free basic medical check-ups and the opportunity to win a wellness holiday package for two (2). The event also saw representatives from the MHTC on hand to address enquiries on healthcare travel options in Malaysia. A networking dinner will be hosted at the Zhety Kaznya restaurant. His Excellency Dato’ Hidayat Abdul Hamid, Ambassador of Malaysia to the Republic of Kazakhstan officiated and addressed a group of media at the Malaysia Pavilion as well as hosted a networking dinner with Malaysian delegates and local stakeholders.
In addition, Malaysia Healthcare launched the “Malaysia Loves You” campaign in Feb 2016, which aims to highlight Malaysia’s most unique qualities as a healthcare destination of choice. The campaign includes an online competition which will be promoted at KITF 2016; the lucky winner stands to win a 5- day 4-night health and wellness retreat at one of the country’s leading wellness facilities. For more details, terms and conditions, log on to http://mylovesyou.com
ABOUT MALAYSIA HEALTHCARE TRAVEL COUNCIL (MHTC)
MHTC is an agency under the purview of the Ministry of Health Malaysia that has been entrusted with the responsibility of curating the country’s healthcare travel scene. Identified as a National Key Economic Area (NKEA), the healthcare travel industry has great potential to contribute to the nation’s economy in its final dash towards achieving a developed nation status.
ABOUT THE 16TH KAZAKHSTAN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM FAIR 2016
KITF was launched in 2001 and is the leading travel event for tourism in Kazakhstan. The event is organised jointly with the Ministry of Industry and New Technology of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The exhibition is well attended by Kazakhstan travel agencies and operators who are looking to develop the nation’s inbound and outbound travel market, attracting over 4,300 attendee professionals and 475 exhibiting companies from 43 countries including China, Germany, Great Britain, South Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and UAE, in 2015.
