Asia rivals UK for health tourism
South-east Asia continues to witness a medical tourism boom as governments promote affordable healthcare for visitors, according to an analyst with research firm GlobalData.
Jennifer Ryan said medical tourism, once the preserve of affluent patients, was now a burgeoning industry and big source of revenue.
She said: ‘Numerous websites exist to help patients plan their trips, with information on everything from hospital and hotel stays to restaurant and sight-seeing recommendations, as patients can enjoy a relaxing post-treatment vacation without having to travel any further.’
Malaysia saw over 670,000 patients from abroad in 2012 and predicted this to rise 14.9%.