The Star
Saturday November 8, 2008
Health and medical tourism will boost growth: Datuk Liow Tiong Lai
BEIJING: Malaysia is tapping into the health and medical tourism as part of the latest measures announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to avert recession.
Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the increasing number of services and medical professionals and wider range of facilities would enable the country to ride the health and medical tourism boom.
The increase in revenue from health and medical tourism would also boost economic growth and help the country ride out the global economic crisis, he added.
“In the past, there was a lot of opposition to health tourism due to shortage of doctors as one major problem,” he said.
It is estimated that the medical tourism in Asia will be worth US$4bil (RM14.2bil) by 2012 and Malaysia, as one of the top destinations for medical tourists from around the world, expects to earn up to US$590mil (RM2.1bil) within five years, according to earlier reports.
“With the cooperation of the Tourism Ministry, the Health Ministry is also looking beyond health tourism which includes wellness programmes like spa, yoga and traditional medicine,” he said at a dinner he hosted for Malaysian students at the Malaysian Embassy here yesterday.
Liow also said that Malaysia, due to its multiracial society, could offer a wide range of traditional medicine such as acupuncture (Chinese), Ayurdeva (Indian) and Malay traditional massage.
He added that Malaysia currently recognised traditional medicine degrees from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.
Two more universities to be recognised later are Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, he said, adding that graduates from these universities need not sit for any local examination before working at government hospitals.
He said Malaysian universities would be able to offer 12 Traditional and Complementary Medicine courses in future when the Traditional and Complementary Medicine (TCM) Bill is passed next year.
The Star
Medical Tourism Articles
- Medical Tourism, a very old concept dating back to thousands of years
more... - Obesity is a major international problem among the heaviest people in the world.
more... - Wellness Program is to establish a work environment that promotes healthy lifestyles, decreases the risk of disease, and enhances the quality of life.
more... - Each patient's wellness visit and recovery is important to us.
more... - Medical Tourism, also known as Global Health, is one of the fastest growing industries in Global Healthcare to seek out affordable and high quality medical care.
more...
Medical Tourism News
- 08 Nov 2008
Health and medical tourism will boost growth: Datuk Liow Tiong Lai,
Minister of Health
Read More... - 30 Oct 2008
Number of Egyptian tourists rise by almost 50%
Read More... - 24 Oct 2008
PIDC keen on promoting dental tourism
Read More...
Frequently Asked Questions
- How to make a contact?
- What can my local doctor do for me?
- Tan Sri Dato' Dr. Yahya Awang
- Dato' Dr Haron Ahmad
- Dr. Abdul Malik Mohamed Hussain
- Dato' Dr. Abdul Jalil Jidon
- Dr David Cheah
- Dr. Mohanraj Krishnasamy
- Dr. Zulraini Dato Shaari
- Dr. Paul Wizman
- Associate Professor Dr Suhail Suresh Abdullah
- Dr Wong Jun Shyan
- Dr Choong Yee Fong
- Dr. Michael S. H. Law
- Dr. Barkeh Jumaat
- Dr. Fang Seng Kheong
- Dr. Kok Howe Sen
- Dr. Lim Kian Seng
- Dr. Cheah May Hong
- Dr. Then Kong Yong
- Dr. Kamala Devi Lingam
- Dr. Meena S. Kandiah
- Dr Anne Tang CK
- Dr. Mohd Zamrin Dimon
- Dr. Roslan Abdul Rahman
- Dr. Somasundaram Sathappan