Quietly developing over decades, medical tourism in Southeast Asia has come into its prime. Thailand and Bali are now sharing the medical spotlight and the world is paying attention.
Both destinations are promoting themselves as magnets for this type of tourism, with the high cost of medical services in western countries driving a shift to the east.
Bali and Thailand have become particularly popular choices for people seeking medical treatments and procedures that cost less than they would in their home nations, while enjoying a vacation or convalescent stay at the same time.
Low Prices, HIgh standards
Last November, Neil Maniquiz, International Marketing Department Director of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (BHP), stressed that safety is paramount in Thai hospitals, with international accreditation as a standard. He also elaborated on cost comparison, showing that a heart bypass in Thailand averages $11,000, compared to USA ($130,000) and Singapore ($18,500).
Hospitals in other popular tourists destinations such as Phuket and Koh Samui also offer a range of medical treatments at competitive prices. In fact, as part of the larger Thailand 2013 public relations plan, the country's Board of Investment (BOI) has boosted its promotion of a wide range of medical and alternative health treatments, as well as medicines, technologies and services.
Last September at the Thailand Medical Hub Export 2012, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health affirmed its eagerness to make the country’s medical services and facilities affordable to all Thai nationals as well as foreigners. Public Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri indicated that the new policy should yield around 800 million baht over the five years of its implementation. Between January 2012 and 2013, approximately 2.5 million foreign travellers visited Thailand to take advantage of the country’s now widely esteemed medical services, generating revenue of around 121.6 million baht.
Health continuum
Thailand has been known for many years as a place to go for healthy food, massage, herbal treatments and Thai massage. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently began to capitalise on this trend through a national promotion of total spa treatments, including healthy regimens, yoga, special diets, as well as detoxification programmes.
Going further to capitalise on the movement and the revenue it brings, the Thai government has upped the ante with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra recently announcing that Thailand’s goal is to implement a policy to 2016 that will evolve the country into a medical hub. The policy will also include the promotion of traditional Thai medicine and alternative medicine as well as health products including Thai herbs and authentic local remedies.
Health Benefits on Bali
Bali has also now broadened its medical tourism industry to include serviced apartments accommodating post-surgery patients.
The recent inaugural opening of BIMC Hospital in Nusa Dua marked a significant step in the evolution of medical tourism on the island, with the event presided over by Mari Elka Pangestu, Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy.
With its entrance resembling a hotel lobby and a private entryway opening onto the lushly designed CosMedic Centre overlooking a golf course, the hospital is clearly more than a basic facility.
Administered by chief medical director Dr. Donna Moniaga and her team of medical experts from New Zealand, Indonesia, United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany, BIMC is the second of its kind on the island. The sister hospital in Kuta, long used by native Indonesians and foreigners on medical tourism trips, has 50 beds, 24-hour medical emergency access, and dental, dialysis and medical centres.
According to Roland Staehler, BIMC's chief marketing officer, “We refer to our elective programs as our three ‘centres of excellence’ and true to the nature of medical tourism, we are further distinguished by offering affordable healthcare”.
Notably reinforcing this claim, the new Courtyard by Marriott Bali resort has been designed to offer specific services for patients needing follow-up care after medical procedures or surgeries.
In addition to the unique provision of aftercare services by BIMC Hospital nurses, Marriott is the first Indonesian facility designed to offer recuperative services embracing special nutrition and diets, wellness and spa programmes suited to patients’ needs and wheelchair access to all property areas.
By Jubel Shaw