Southeast Asia battles for a bigger share of the $35.9b medical tourism market

Travellers seeking life-altering medical procedures are increasingly eyeing Southeast Asia as a medical tourism destination, given the potential cost savings and access to cutting-edge treatments, whilst avoiding long wait times back home.

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The region is on track to solidify its position as a key medical tourism player, with more hospitals and clinics that are home to renowned doctors and specialists investing more heavily in high-tech medical devices, RHB Investment Bank Bhd reported.

Rising demand

Major healthcare providers, including Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, IHH Healthcare, and KPJ Healthcare are banking on rising demand in the region, which captures a third of the world’s tourists seeking affordable and high-quality treatments, it said.

“Beyond value-for-money service offerings, the rise of qualified professionals, in our view, will continue to drive the medical tourism industry in Southeast Asia,” RHB said.

“This, in turn, should benefit prominent healthcare service providers in the region.”

The global medical tourism market is expected to be worth $35.9b by 2032, or a compound annual growth rate of 12.2%, according to Market.US. Medical tourism can save patients as much as 70% of the cost of care compared with the US.

RHB said Malaysia and Thailand are the biggest winners. Thailand leads the region in revenue at $850m. Malaysias medical tourism revenue was $ 444m, whilst Singapore’s was estimated at $270m, it added.