Following the complete opening of its borders in the first few months of last year, Malaysia's medical tourism industry is gradually making a comeback.
Medical tourism is a significant source of revenue for private hospitals, according to Datuk Dr. Kuljit Singh, president of the Private Hospitals Malaysia Association.
He claimed that those seeking medical treatment in Malaysia find it simple to interact with hospital staff since everyone speaks English and because patients receive high-quality medication, unlike in some other nations.
Kuljit noted that big cities like Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, and Malacca are home to the majority of private facilities that cater to medical tourists.
"Malaysia is a major magnet for medical tourists as the nation has a variety of sights to see.
"Families who view the trip as a vacation frequently travel with medical tourists from regions like the Middle East, Bangladesh, India, and China.
"While a medical tourist is receiving treatment at the hospital, the family will use the time to tour the nation's numerous attractions."
According to Kuljit, medical tourists find Malaysia's healthcare to be quite reasonable when compared to other nations in the region. She also said that many locals may be dissatisfied with the price of care at private hospitals because they pay virtually nothing at government hospitals.
There were 1.2 million medical tourists who sought treatment in Malaysia before the arrival of Covid-19 in 2019.
However, despite the industry's sluggish recovery, around 800,000 medical tourists sought care here in 2017.
Malaysia attracts medical tourists because it has the best private-sector staff, including elite specialists.
According to him, the private sector can increase the number of hospitals and beds available for patient care, but the cost would stay the same because there are no economies of scale when it comes to salaries and medical supplies.
While the government grants licenses to private hospitals that adhere to its norms and rules and have the resources to make investments, according to Kuljit, it won't step in to assist if a hospital experiences financial difficulties.
The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) reported that last year saw the industry's highest revenue level since 2019 of more than RM1.2 billion, as air travel resumed following three years of pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions.
   
With an estimated RM2 billion in yearly revenue in 2025, MHTC anticipates that the medical tourism sector will continue to expand.
According to the council, the impact of Covid-19 and border closures caused a compounding reduction in Malaysia's healthcare travel revenues, with the greatest impact occurring in the second half of 2020 and beyond.
It claimed that Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States had the biggest numbers of medical tourists.