HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM, 4 MAY – Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) bagged the “Medical Travel Organization of the Year Award” at the 2018 Asia Pacific Healthcare and Medical Tourism Awards for the second consecutive year, in Ho Chi Minh City today. This achievement further cements MHTC’s reputation as a coordinating agency in its bid to promote Malaysia as the leading global destination for healthcare.
For this award, the judges looked for organisations that have maintained consistently high standards in delivering quality care and pushed the boundaries of providing for their customers at every stage and in every interaction. These organisations are then further evaluated through indepth interviews to understand their current market position, future growth plans, achievements and company performance, after which they are ranked accordingly.
The judging process is based on a four-tiered stage: Global Health and Travel’s (GHT) healthcare knowledge, AB Bernstein’s market research, evaluation by a panel of industry experts, and by consumer surveys. This methodology serves as an effective tool to benchmark the award nominees against industry standards and peers.
Malaysia’s leading private healthcare facilities also bagged several awards during the event. These are:
Malaysia Healthcare’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ms. Yazmin Azman says, “We are so honoured to receive this award for the second time. Truly, we see Malaysia gaining more traction and popularity as a leading global destination for healthcare. At the same time, it bodes well for MHTC to gain recognition for the role we play as an agency operating with the full support of the government under the Ministry of Health.”
The award is a further testament to the agency’s success at garnering global acknowledgment within international healthcare travel, adding to Malaysia’s long list of accolades, which includes “Best Country in the World for Healthcare” by International Living’s Annual Global Retirement Index 2015 – 2017. Most recently in 2018, Malaysia was ranked as the top Asian country for retirement, placing fifth best globally after Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.
Earlier, Yazmin was a guest speaker at the 2018 Asia Pacific Healthcare & Medical Tourism Conference. Talking on “Malaysian Healthcare: Going from Good to Great”, Yazmin shared with some 200 international delegates on Malaysia Healthcare’s journey towards becoming a leader in healthcare travel.
The Asia Pacific Healthcare and Medical Tourism Summit is a collaboration between Global Health & Travel and AB Bernstein, that brings together a thought-leadership conference and an awards gala evening. The summit is already gathering pace as the leading healthcare podium in Asia, a gathering of illustrious delegates compromising of C-Level executives and senior management. AB Bernstein, based in New York City, U.S, provides investment services and solutions for institutions across the globe.
MHTC is an agency set up in 2009 under the Ministry of Health to facilitate and promote Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry. MHTC has been mandated by the government to mobilise several initiatives to propel Malaysia to become the leading global destination for healthcare.
Anchored upon Malaysia’s strengths and uniqueness as a destination for healthcare, these key initiatives are (i) Position Malaysia as the hub for Fertility and Cardiology of Asia, (ii) Establish flagship medical tourism hospitals in Malaysia and (iii) Champion Malaysia’s first international health campaign, Malaysia Year of Health 2020 (MYH 2020).
As the Asian hub for Fertility, Malaysia Healthcare is “Giving Hope to Dreams” by presenting an optimal environment for aspiring couples to embark on a journey towards becoming parents. Deemed the Heartbeat of Asia, Malaysian is anchoring on our niche speciality in cardiology treatments as the Cardiology hub of Asia. Also, MYH2020 will run in tandem with Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM 2020), the country’s national tourism campaign, inviting healthcare travellers to “Experience Malaysia Healthcare, Embrace Malaysian Hospitality”.