“HEALTH is wealth” as the age-old adage goes. This is definitely true in the case of medical tourism.
It’s a big revenue generator, especially when medical facilities are located within a popular tourist destination like Penang.
Think about it – if one is scheduled for minor medical procedure or treatment, why not bundle the family along and make a trip out of it.
More pertinently, it appears that Indonesians are the main target group for Penang’s booming medical tourism industry.
The medical tourism industry is booming here in Penang 🤯
Hotel ni penuh Indonesians nak buat treatment
— 🍉🌲 (@xatyrosdi) November 15, 2024
In a post by social media influencer 🍉🌲(@xatyrosdi), it was noted that the hospital was full of Indonesians seeking treatment. The post has been viewed 3.2 million times with many Indonesians stating that it was indeed cheaper to seek treatment in Penang.
In fact, one commenter contended that “there’s less cases of overtreatment and overcharging” with another likened Penang “to how JB (Johor Bahru) is like to Medan folks given the short distance and cheap flights”.
Malaysians also reported this to be true with Indonesians making a beeline to specialist centres in Penang as evident by “hospital vans parking outside the airport”.
One confirmed that Indonesians make a big market for Penang’s medical tourism with various social media accounts existing solely to advise potential patients on this.
One highlighted that it was indeed big business with a banner purportedly taken in Jakarta.
Some reckoned that the medical staff in Malaysia did their job well hence making it a worthwhile journey for the Indonesian patients. It was further stated that such convenience of “good price, good service” was very much lacking at Indonesian hospitals.
One commenter shared that Columbia Asia has just opened a new hospital just a short distance from the Penang airport, thus making it even more convenient.
Some pointed to the advertising and even doctor’s language abilities that underline the Indonesian clientele.
One netizen even highlighted the immigration procedures that reflected the medical tourism industry in Penang, most notably “the facility of obtaining the fingerprints of patients lying on stretchers who are then pushed to waiting ambulances”.
Acting on this trend, the Sunway Group has opened a medical facility in Seberang Jaya, mainland Penang (in November 2022) that is designed to maximise medical tourism opportunities.
Alongside the Sunway Medical Centre is the Sunway Hotel Seberang Jaya and the Bayu Somerset Sunway Carnival Mall that bring healthcare, hospitality and retail within a stone’s throw of each other.
Nak tahu betapa hebatnya medical tourism di Penang, tengok apa yang Sunway buat.
Kat Seberang Jaya tu, dia buka Sunway Medical Centre sebelah Sunway Hotel Seberang Jaya dan sepelaung dari situ ialah Sunway Carnival Mall.
Rawat di hospital, rehat di hotel dan riang ria di mall. https://t.co/9b2RiwXJAt pic.twitter.com/rDkwvgXbry
— Muhammad Najib (@muhammadnajib79) November 17, 2024
This trend is not only positive news for Penang but for the medical industry as a whole in Malaysia with the mammoth Kuala Lumpur Wellness City set to open in 1H 2026.
Health is indeed wealth in more ways than one. – Nov 22, 2024
Main image credit: Travel Weekly Asia
