REVENUE of RM351.5 million was recorded from 401,262 health tourists to the country until June this year, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.
He said the figure was expected to double by the end of December based on the number of health tourist arrivals to the country.
“The target this year is RM630 million in revenue from the strategies, promotional efforts and intensive marketing undertaken by the Malaysian Health Tourism Council (MHTC) to ensure that Malaysia becomes a major health tourism destination,” he said to a question from Datuk Dr Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad (PAS-Pasir Puteh) at the Dean Rakyat sitting, here, yesterday.
Nik Mazian wanted to know the number of health tourists to Malaysia, the estimated revenue earned from health tourism and the number of medical centres from which they sought treatment.
Dr Hilmi said the efforts undertaken by the MHTC proved fruitful as the number of health tourists to the country increased each year, thus giving a big impact to the industry.
“The number of health tourists to Malaysia rose to 583,296 in 2011 from 392,956 in 2010 (48 per cent increase).
In 2012, the number increased further to 671,727 (15 per cent rise),” he said.
As for revenue, he said the figure increased to RM511.2 million in 2011 from RM378.7 million in 2010 (35 per cent rise), and in 2012, it rose to RM594 million, a 16 per cent increase over the previous year.
Dr Hilmi said there were 72 hospitals and healthcare centres registered with the MHTC for the promotion of health tourism in this country, and they were offering attractive treatment packages at reasonable costs.
Among the hospitals which received a high number of tourists in 2012 were the Prince Court Medical Centre Kuala Lumpur, Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur, Johor Specialist Hospital, Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya and Lam Wah Ee Hospital in Penang. — Bernama
source: http://www.theborneopost.com / Bornea Post Online / Home> News> Nation / Wednesday – November 27th, 2013
