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Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments.
Medical tourism is the practice of traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable at home. However, in recent years it may equally refer to those from developed countries who travel to developing countries for lower-priced medical treatments. With differences between the medical agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA), etc., which decide whether a drug is approved in their country or region, or not, the motivation may be also for medical services unavailable or non-licensed in the home country.
Parkway Pantai, Ltd. is a medical company based in Singapore and is Southeast Asia's largest private healthcare provider, and one of the largest in Asia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based IHH Healthcare, whose largest shareholder is Malaysian state investment agency Khazanah Nasional. Parkway Pantai operates private hospitals in Singapore, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates. IHH Healthcare also owns the International Medical University. In July 2017, According to the reports, Parkway Pantai issued a US$2 billion multicurrency bond to refinance its debts.
A private hospital is a hospital not owned by the government, including for-profits and non-profits. Funding is by patients themselves ("self-pay"), by insurers, or by foreign embassies. Private hospitals are commonly part, albeit in varying degrees, of the majority of healthcare systems around the world.
Tourism in Malaysia is a major industry and contributor to the Malaysian economy. Malaysia was once ranked 9th in the world for tourist arrivals. In 2017, the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Malaysia 26 out of 141 countries using its Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) which measures the various components and policies of a country that are in place to allow for the sustainable development of its travel and tourism sectors.
Healthcare in Malaysia is under the purview of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Malaysia. Malaysia generally has an efficient and widespread system of health care, operating a two-tier health care system consisting of both a government-run public universal healthcare system along with private healthcare providers. Within the chronically underfunded public universal healthcare system, specialist services are either free or have low user fees for procedures ; as such the public healthcare system suffers from high demand, routine congestion, long wait lists, chronic widespread delays along with persistent shortages in healthcare personnel, medical equipment and healthcare supplies. Therefore, private healthcare providers play a pivotal role in providing specialist consultants and general practitioner (GP) services to the Malaysian population; the private healthcare providers complements or supplants the public healthcare system in terms of availability, types of treatments provided and types of materials used.
A medical tourism agent is an organisation or a company which seeks to bring together a prospective patient with a service provider, usually a hospital or a clinic. These organisations are generally facilitators and developers of medical tourism, which brings into play a number of issues that do not apply when a patient stays within their own country of origin.
Halal tourism is a subcategory of tourism which is geared towards Muslim families who abide by rules of Islam. The hotels in such destinations do not serve alcohol, have separate swimming pools and spa facilities for men and women, serve only halal foods, and have prayer facilities in-room and in a common hall. Travel agents, while designing travel packages for this, follow guidelines of halal. Malaysia, Turkey and many more countries offer facilities in accordance with the religious beliefs of Muslim tourists in order to attract more customers. Currently, there exist no internationally recognized standards on Halal tourism.
Medical tourism in India is a growing sector within the country's economy. In 2022, India's medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth US$9 billion. Approximately 2 million patients visit India each year from 78 countries for medical, wellness and IVF treatments, generating $6 billion for the industry which is expected to reach $13 billion by 2026 and is backed by the Indian government's Heal in India initiative. According to a report from 2019 by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Ernst & Young, most of the medical patients arrivals in India were from Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, and SAARC region. India also receives significant number of medical patients from Australia, Canada, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The city of Chennai has come to be known as the healthcare capital of India.
Medical tourism in Pakistan has been arranging potential trips for many medical health and care procedures. A number of hospital facilities exist in major cities such as Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore that are equipped and facilitated with modern medical technologies. Many doctors and surgeons in Pakistani hospitals tend to be foreign qualified. However, security issues and an overall below-par health infrastructure have challenged the growth of the industry.
Healthcare in Chennai is provided by both government-run and private hospitals. Chennai attracts about 45 percent of health tourists from abroad arriving in the country and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. The city has been termed India's health capital. Multi- and super-specialty hospitals across the city bring in an estimated 150 international patients every day. Factors behind the tourists' inflow in the city include low costs, little to no waiting period, and facilities offered at the speciality hospitals in the city.
According to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), Malaysia reportedly received 641,000 foreign patients in 2011, 728,800 in 2012, 881,000 in 2013, 882,000 in 2014, 859,000 in 2015, and 921,000 in 2016. Malaysia's medical tourism statistics derive from the reported numbers of all foreign patients treated by MHTC-endorsed medical facilities. These figures encompass all registered patients with a foreign passport, which by default also encompass expatriates, migrants, business travellers, and holiday-makers for whom health care may not be the main motive for their stay. The number of MHTC-endorsed medical facilities in Malaysia has increased over the years, playing a role in increasing the official figures on foreign patients. Malaysia is listed in the top 10 tourism destinations in the world by Patients Beyond Borders.
Ramsay Health Care UK is a healthcare company based in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Australian businessman Paul Ramsay, who established its parent company: Ramsay Health Care, in Sydney, Australia, in 1964 and has grown to become a global hospital group operating 151 hospitals and day surgery facilities across Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID), established in 1986, is a nonprofit organization that monitors infectious diseases on a global scale. It also offers grants and fellowships, publishes a journal, and runs online learning platforms for sharing information on managing infectious diseases. It is based in Brookline, Massachusetts, US. The organization solicits donations from the general public, as well as governments, foundations, and the pharmaceutical industry.
LaingBuisson is a business intelligence provider across health, care and education, headquartered in Angel, London. It provides insights, data and analysis of market structures, policy and strategy and is the chosen provider of independent sector healthcare market data to the UK Government's Office for National Statistics.
Elitour is the Greek Medical Tourism Council. It is associated with the Greek National Tourism Organization.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as slump in demand among travelers. The tourism industry has been massively affected by the spread of coronavirus, as many countries have introduced travel restrictions in an attempt to contain its spread. The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimated that global international tourist arrivals could have decreased by 58% to 78% in 2020, leading to a potential loss of US $0.9–1.2 trillion in international tourism receipts.
South Korea has been considered a medical tourism destination since 2009, attracting more than 2.76 million foreign patients between then and 2019. The increasing number of patients seeking medical treatment in South Korea do so for multiple reasons, such as low medical costs, high quality medical services, short waiting times, and tourism packages combining relaxation and tourism.
USHAŞ, USHAŞ A.Ş. is a Turkish state owned healthcare company headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. The company was established in 2019 by Turkish Ministry of Health with the decree-law number 663 to promote and regulate medical tourism in Turkey.
The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) was established by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia (MOH) in 2005. MHTC is responsible in advocating for the healthcare travel industry in Malaysia, coordinating industry collaborations and building public-private partnerships at home and abroad. The Malaysia Healthcare brand was introduced in 2009 with its own logo and tagline, "Quality Care for Your Peace of Mind". In 2011, MHTC was corporatised as an independent entity to coordinate Malaysia's healthcare travel sector.
References
- ↑ "International Medical Travel Journal". University of Pennsylvania Library. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ↑ "Croatian Health Tourism:Interview with IMTJ Editor Keith Pollard". Total Croatia News. 10 November 2018. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ↑ "ARABIA: THE NEW MECCA FOR CHINESE MEDICAL TOURISTS?". South China Morning Post. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ↑ "IMTJ: Greece Can Grow its Medical Tourism Business". Greek Travel Pages. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ↑ "Boost economy via medical tourism, PM tells healthcare providers". Free Malaysia Today. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ↑ "Malaysia Seeks Strategic Global Partnerships to Accelerate Its Growth Trajectory As A Preferred Healthcare Destination". PR Newswire. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.