A Medical Must
Since the Royal Thai Government initiated a strategy for the development for Thailand to be the medical hub in 2004, there have been an increasing number of international visitors coming to the country for medical check ups and treatment.
At present, Thailand has received a lot of recognition from foreign nationals requiring medical check ups and treatment, and is fast becoming a hub for medical tourism in Asia. The major factors are the state-of-the-art medical technology, professional doctors and medical specialists, easy access to the country, reasonable medical costs, and excellent hospitality. In addition to these aspects, Thailand is also a major holiday destination for tourists from all over the world, as it has a vast diversity of tourism resources to offer them. This includes beaches and islands, mountains, art and culture, Thai cuisine, entertainment, shopping plus more, which they can experience after receiving treatment.
Hospitals in Thailand, both government and private, have developed their facilities to an international standard and have received HA, USO, and JCIA accreditation. In so doing, people who come for treatment can be assured that they will receive quality. At present, our country has a total of 1,256 hospitals with 110,176 beds. From this number, there are a total of 829 government hospitals with 74,562 beds that are 90% occupied. However, the government hospitals focus mainly on providing treatment to the Thai people that is line with the national health insurance provided to them by the government. In contrast, there are 336 private hospitals nationwide with 35,614 beds. In the year 2007, these hospitals had an occupation rate of 0.40% of which 30 hospitals are prepared and have the potential in treating foreign nationals. There are also 5 hospitals that have experience in marketing to other countries; such as, Bumrungrad Hospital, the Phaya Thai Hospital Group, the Bangkok Hospital Group, Samitivej Hospital Group, and Rama 9 Hospital.
In the year 2006, approximately 1.4 million international visitors used healthcare services in Thailand that was a 14% increase when compared with 2005. It is estimated that in 2007, there will be an 11% increase. In the year 2004, India welcomed 1.5 million visitors who traveled to receive healthcare, and this figure rose slightly by 15% of each year. In 2006, the healthcare business generated income of approximately 333 million US dollars; furthermore, by the year 2012, the Indian government has set a target of receiving income of 1-2 billion US dollars. This is also offset by large Indian business stakeholders investing in this industry. These include Tatas, Fortis, Max, Wockhardt, Piramal, and the Escort Group, which have invested in hospitals with state-of-the-art medical technology and other necessary facilities in various tourism destinations of that country.
There is also a one-stop service for international visitors receiving treatment as from their arrival at the airport as well as visa services. With regard to Singapore, in the year 2005, there were approximately 374,000 international visitors who traveled to that country for healthcare services. Fifty percent of them came from the Middle East and this generated 873 million US dollars and 918 million US dollars in 2006, an increase of 5.1%. Singapore has set a target of 1 million international visitors who will help generate 3 billion US dollars by the year 2012. At present, they have a one-stop service known as SingHealth that is a joint cooperation between the government and the related hospitals. They also conduct marketing promotions by using E-marketing and branding that is being used in their international marketing promotion campaigns as of this year (reference from CUU-McKinsey, the Singapore Department of Statistics).
