7 MARCH 2017: Malaysia Healthcare receives an exclusive invitation from World Medical Tourism Congress India (WMTC India) for insights on healthcare travel. Held for the first time in a location outside of the USA, WMTC India takes place this 7 – 8 March 2017 in New Delhi, as a platform to further extend the health travel market in India.
Malaysia Healthcare has moved from strength to strength in the last few years. The country was named “Medical Travel Destination of the Year” at the International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) Medical Travel Awards 2015 and 2016, and “Best Country in the World for Healthcare” by International Living’s Global Retirement Index from 2015 to 2017.
India, a vast South Asian destination, with more than 1.25 billion people, making it the second most populated country in the world, is a unique and emerging travel market. Indians have been coming to Malaysia for tourism for the longest time and recent trends show that more and more are seeking healthcare treatment in Malaysia too. In 2011, over 18,000 Indian patients sought treatment in Malaysia and encouragingly this figure rose to over 39,000 in 2015, a positive growth rate of 116%. The Indian outbound travel market is expected to account for 50 million tourists by 2020, as reported in Economic Times.
Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC)’s Chief Executive Officer, Sherene Azli says, “Malaysia has the right qualities for achieving greater heights in international healthcare travel: excellent quality in healthcare services, accessibility and affordability. To top it off, it is easy for Indian patients to communicate with health professionals here, as English, Tamil, Hindi, and many other languages are widely spoken”.
“Matched with strong government backing and commitment from the private healthcare sector, Malaysia has everything it takes to achieve our ambition of being the leading global healthcare destination. We will press on in our efforts to sustain Malaysia as a global force to be reckoned with”, said Sherene further.
Sherene joins WMTC India as a panelist addressing the major challenges faced by the industry, as well as exchange perspectives and strategies to mitigate these issues. The Deputy Director-General of Health, Malaysia, Datuk Dr. Jeyaindran Tan Sri Sinnadurai, is also featured as a speaker in a panel discussion, highlighting his vast experience in the field and how the government ensures a smooth and efficient process for travelling patients, as well as discuss possible solutions to existing issues in creating government partnerships.
Malaysia was also honoured as the “2015 Public Private Partnership Medical Travel Destination of the Year” at the 8th Annual World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress in Orlando, Florida (USA) for its highly successful public-private partnerships and collaborations.
WMTC is an annual international conference that brings together high-level executives, in sectors related to healthcare travel, ranging from insurance industry representatives, healthcare providers and healthcare travel facilitators to wellness stakeholders and governmental agencies. The event promotes cross-border and cross-cultural exposure of the latest trends, information and knowledge sharing in key areas of healthcare travel.
In 2016, it is estimated that around 820,000 Indian tourists visited Malaysia. With an average of 18 flights per week flying direct from New Delhi to Kuala Lumpur, India is the obvious country of focus for Malaysia Healthcare. Other countries that are under Malaysia Healthcare’s radar for future collaborations are Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Middle East countries to name a few.
To further position Malaysia as the leading healthcare travel destination, Malaysia Healthcare recently launched the “Share My Love” campaign spreading awareness about coming to the country to experience Malaysia Healthcare and to embrace the Malaysian hospitality.
Also in the spirit of promoting harmony and unity, “Share My Love” aims to carry further the message on “Malaysia Loves You” and spread the word that Malaysians are truly warm and friendly as the nation extends its love and hospitality to all. #sharemylove aims to highlight Malaysia’s most unique qualities as a healthcare travel destination of choice. More details can be obtained at www.mylovesyou.com.
