Southeast Asia, in particular, is considered a medical-tourism “sweet spot,” with decades of solid economic growth creating high-quality medical systems that remain competitively priced.
Patients come from both rich and poor nations, the former driven by high costs at home, and the latter seeking better-quality care.
Malaysia’s market has nearly doubled since 2010, reaching 770,000 patients and $200 million in revenue last year, according to government figures.
“We are behind Thailand for sure, but we are giving Singapore a good fight,” said T. Mahadevan, head of the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia.
Thailand says it attracted 2.53 million medical tourists in 2012. Though its figures include spa tourists, that’s a one-third increase in just two years, a period in which revenues nearly doubled to around $4.2 billion.
In Singapore, medical tourists spent $630 million last year, a figure likely inflated by the modern city-state’s relatively higher costs. Patients Beyond Borders estimates Singapore draws more than a half-million treatment-seekers annually, mostly from neighbouring Indonesia, where health systems lag.
Malaysia set up a special body in 2009 to streamline and organise industry players.
Patients Without Borders calls Malaysia “medical travel’s best-kept secret”, noting the widely spoken fluent English and far cheaper medical costs compared to Japan, the United States, Europe and other key clientele sources.
“I would come back here again. I would definitely recommend it,” Alexandria Garvie, 61, said from her hospital bed in Kuala Lumpur after a tummy tuck.
The $5,000 procedure — around one-quarter of what she would have paid at home in Australia — was performed at the Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre.
The company also recently opened a new branch near the border with Singapore to entice patients from the more affluent city-state.
Most medical tourists to Malaysia, however, are well-heeled visitors from less-developed Indonesia, followed by Indians, Japanese and Chinese. Future growth is expected from the wealthy Middle East.
Sun and silicone
Ancillary businesses have sprouted.
Beautiful Holidays, based on the northern Malaysian island of Penang, connects overseas clients with local cosmetic surgeons, arranges their accommodations, and shepherds them to pre- and post-op check-ups.
But it also arranges drinks, dining and sightseeing in Penang, know for its historical sites, beaches and cultural melange.
“The idea is to have people come here for holidays — sun and silicone, that kind of thing,” said Tony Leong, the company’s programme director.
Ashley Higgins, a 30-year-old American, has used the company twice, first for a breast augmentation, then a nose job.
She was initially wary of going under the knife on the other side of the globe, but price concerns won out.
“The hard part is trusting people when you are 1,000 miles from home. I felt comfortable coming here,” she said.
