Thailand Medical Tourism Should Draw 10 Mn Visitors In 5 Years

[webfact]

Medical tourism should draw 10 mn visitors in 5 years

By The Nation

The number of tourists seeking health care service in Thailand is believed to reach 10 million within the next five years, said President of the Thai Hotels Association, Prakit Chinamourphong.

Statistics showed that over 1.2 million tourists were seeking health care service in Thailand each year. Each service recipient together with those accompanying tended to spend at least Bt200,000 a trip.

Prakit supported the Tourism Authority of Thailand's concept of promoting health tourism in Thailand, saying the Thai Hotels Association and the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) have jointly drawn up a similar promotion plan. He believed the cooperation between the private and public sectors would bring massive income to the country.

The Tourism and Sports Ministry has called a meeting of private entrepreneurs and related units today, in order to discuss the business potentials and their cooperation for best absolute outcome.

Deputy Governor of the TAT's Public Relations Division, Surapol Sawetserani said the TAT intends to promote medical tourism in the year 2010 with the cooperation from the private and public sectors. He claimed that Thailand has high potentials and marketing opportunities for the business, as most foreign visitors using the service are those with high purchasing power.

The TAT is in the process of gathering information relating to health service providers, accommodations, rehabilitation facilities and tourism programs for companions, to be displayed on its website. Road shows will be later scheduled to target countries, as part of the marketing strategy.

-- The Nation 2009/12/28

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[bkkjames]

If as the PR person says is true that most of those seeking these services are high end, why then the need to come to Thailand for medical treatment?

[Pdaz]

Yep 'High end' 'quality tourists' from Bangladesh, India, Yemen, Iraq etc etc...

Edit..

Correction the Iraqis go to the UK to get it done free on the NHS..

Edited December 28, 2009 by Pdaz

[Thai at Heart]

In which case, are true beach goers the 3rd most prevelent tourists after sex tourist and health tourists?

[alant]

10 million?

is that per year?

if current visits are 1.2 million pa each bringing in 200,000 baht then i can understand the attraction, 240 billion (US) baht.

but hang on, how does this effect the availability of health care provision. even if each patient required only 1 night in hospital that would be (pardon the simplistic maths) 1.2 million beds used or looking at it another way given there are usually 365 days per year, 3,288 beds required every night.

extrapolating this to 10million we get 27,397 beds required per night.

does Thailand have that spare capacity?

[Phil Conners]

They are so dreaming. More and more people know how to use Google and will quickly find out the true colors of health care in Thailand.

[bellste]

Yes,they always have big plans, that have to do with money.

Five of my wife's family members has been treated in Thai Hospitals. Not one of them have survived, and none of them was over the age of 50.Top quality? 

Edited December 28, 2009 by bellste

[LaoPo]

"Medical tourism should draw 10 mn visitors in 5 years"

"1.2 mn seeking medical help"..........out of the 9 or 10mn real tourists there are now ( travelers from Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and visa runners + multiple tourist border crossers deducted) ?

What a joke.

LaoPo

Edited December 28, 2009 by LaoPo

[catmac]

How on Earth do they come up with these figures?

1.2 million roughly equates to 25,000 per week. If we could assume that a Boing 747 carried just over 300 souls, then we have to believe that every week no less than 75 jumbo jets full of "medical tourists" are landing at BKK! Utter bullsh*t, but completely in line with most drivel churned out by TAT.

Could I sugest that my couple of trips to Ram hospital here in Chiang Mai for very minor mishaps, are being counted as 2 "health tourists"? Would seem to be the only way that the figures could make sense.

[animatic]

Out patient procedures don't call for long bed usages.

Many things just are in and out after a few hours.

[Ijustwannateach]

Wait'll it gets out that there's no accountability after some reasonable percent of the operations result in mistakes or malpractice...... they might fool a lot of people in the first year on the basis of prices alone, assuming they're cheap enough to cancel out the airfare.

[Bagwan]

Out patient procedures don't call for long bed usages.

Many things just are in and out after a few hours.

I think you are confusing health tourists with sex tourists.

[rkidlad]

It's all so very sad. Why anyone on God's green earth should have to leave their own country for something so important as health care is beyond me.

I had serious medical problems as a child and it was all bought and paid for by the British NHS. You can slag it off all day long, but it saved my life and I will never complain about this service. The doctors and nurses were awesome and we all know how the nurses are seriously underpaid.

Never take things like this for granted.

[RickBlaine]

There may be an element of truth to this story. I was watching BBC World or Aljazeera, can't remember which, they did an article about medical tourists to Thailand. It is on the increase, according to them. They interviewed a couple of Americas who were very happy with the service - not exactly a statistical analysis I know.

But 10 million? Where will they put them all?

And will they all 'forget' to leave when their tourist visa runs out? Are we going to be tripping over them at the border with their sticks and wheelchairs as they learn the black art of the back-to-back visas...?

[bkkjames]

There may be an element of truth to this story. I was watching BBC World or Aljazeera, can't remember which, they did an article about medical tourists to Thailand. It is on the increase, according to them. They interviewed a couple of Americas who were very happy with the service - not exactly a statistical analysis I know.

But 10 million? Where will they put them all?

And will they all 'forget' to leave when their tourist visa runs out? Are we going to be tripping over them at the border with their sticks and wheelchairs as they learn the black art of the back-to-back visas...?

It wouldnt shock me to see a new type of visa rolled out for this. Call the the M Visa and it could be scaled according to the serious amount of money they will spend while here being treated.

1) Heart related : 1 million baht and 6 months

2) Cancer : 2 million and 12 months

3) Cosmetic surgery: 100,000 and 30 days

4) Sex change: M2F 50,000, 60 day multiple entry, F2M, 90 days, single entry

[alant]

Out patient procedures don't call for long bed usages.

Many things just are in and out after a few hours.

maybe but the article states a mean spend of 200,000 baht (including family members) that is a hel_l of a lot for a couple of hours

[alant]

It's all so very sad. Why anyone on God's green earth should have to leave their own country for something so important as health care is beyond me.

I had serious medical problems as a child and it was all bought and paid for by the British NHS. You can slag it off all day long, but it saved my life and I will never complain about this service. The doctors and nurses were awesome and we all know how the nurses are seriously underpaid.

Never take things like this for granted.

glad you were well treated and are now in good health.

there are many reasons that people elect to go overseas for treatment one being availability so i can understand the need. Sure the nhs has some fine proffesionals, not just doctors and nurses (who now have much better salaries by the way) but also medical laboratory scientists, pharmacists, therapists of all the varying designations to mention just a few.

it also has some problems usually due, in my opinion, to the fact that it is a prominent political instrument.

[SantiSuk]

Another 9 million in 5 years time? They had better start building tomorrow the one hundred new hospitals that would imply and training the 50,000 new doctors and 200,000 new staff. Possible in 10 years, but who are they trying to kid?

Fertilty treatment does seem to be an area of significant opportunity - not so big on the health risk and costs way below falang prices. Bumrungrad's unit was stuffed full of falang - Yanks Ozzies Euros Nips - as well as Arabs and Indians every time we went there.

I would not belittle the concept of Thailand becoming a big medical tourist destination like many posters here. Facilities and experience are coming on in leaps and bounds and the first malpractice suits will only serve to tighten up quality IMHO, not blow the concept out of the water.

I think too many TVers apply their experience of untrained labour from rural areas to the whole of Thai society. Yes I agree that element is, by and large, workshy and ill-educated - not their fault in a society that seems to want to preserve an underclass. You are making a big mistake though to judge the potential for success of Thailand's commercial ambition by reference to your personal observations at this level.

[bkkjames]

Another 9 million in 5 years time? They had better start building tomorrow the one hundred new hospitals that would imply and training the 50,000 new doctors and 200,000 new staff. Possible in 10 years, but who are they trying to kid?

Fertilty treatment does seem to be an area of significant opportunity - not so big on the health risk and costs way below falang prices. Bumrungrad's unit was stuffed full of falang - Yanks Ozzies Euros Nips - as well as Arabs and Indians every time we went there.

I would not belittle the concept of Thailand becoming a big medical tourist destination like many posters here. Facilities and experience are coming on in leaps and bounds and the first malpractice suits will only serve to tighten up quality IMHO, not blow the concept out of the water.

I think too many TVers apply their experience of untrained labour from rural areas to the whole of Thai society. Yes I agree that element is, by and large, workshy and ill-educated - not their fault in a society that seems to want to preserve an underclass. You are making a big mistake though to judge the potential for success of Thailand's commercial ambition by reference to your personal observations at this level.

First malpractice suit to tighten up quality? Willing to bet your life on that? I wouldn't.