How Malaysia’s medical tourism can remain competitive amidst regional competition

Thailand and Singapore pose as strong competitors within the industry.

Malaysia continues to be an attractive destination for medical tourists due to its cost-effective healthcare and availability of advanced healthcare facilities, however, it is poised to face strong regional competition, according to a BMI report.

The report revealed that one competitor, particularly Thailand, has enacted initiatives to enhance their country’s medical tourism industry such as the recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabia and the government’s relaxing of medical visas in 2023.

Meanwhile, Singapore, which may struggle to compete in terms of offering affordable healthcare, may target patients seeking more complex procedures or those from developed markets for higher income returns. 

To remain competitive, BMI predicts partnerships to remain a feature of Malaysia’s efforts to enhance its medical tourism industry, citing a recent collaboration between KPJ Healthcare and the Mayo Clinic care network.

“KPJ Healthcare, which operates 29 hospitals in Malaysia, announced that two of its hospitals had joined the Mayo Clinic care network,” BMI said.

The collaboration will enhance the healthcare services provided by the hospitals by leveraging Mayo Clinic’s knowledge and expertise and will help to attract patients seeking advanced medical care,” It added.

Moreover, Malaysian-based Sunway Healthcare group has also signed a partnership with PT JCB International Indonesia to attract more medical tourists from the country.