Amiruddin said the medical travel industry in Malaysia has seen immense growth over the last 30 years, especially in private healthcare. — Picture by Ahmad ZamzahuriKUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — The Finance Ministry (MOF) is confident that Malaysia will achieve its targeted revenue of RM2.8 billion from medical travellers by 2020 as arrivals are expected to double this year alone to more than two million people.Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah said last year, some one million healthcare travellers generated RM1.3 billion in revenue for the country.He pointed out that as the Sales and Service Tax (SST) is not imposed on medical bills, Malaysia will remain a competitive destination for medical travellers.“At the same time, the MOF provides incentives such as the Investment Tax Allowance (ITA) and Double Tax Deductions to enable more investments in medical travel,” he said at the Insight 2018 on Medical Tourism Industry conference here today.He added the incentives also allowed private healthcare providers to acquire international accreditation, which improves the quality of their services.He said the medical travel industry in Malaysia has seen immense growth over the last 30 years, especially in private healthcare.The growth of the industry, said Amiruddin, driven by commercialisation and entrepreneurship, supported by strong governance and incentives from the government.“In 1980, we only had approximately 50 private hospitals, 2,000 beds, and 200 specialists. Today, we have 232 private hospitals, providing around 15,000 beds, served by around 14,000 specialists,” he said.Source: Malay Mail
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Muhammad Rasydan Ma’at
Asst. Manager, Communications
+603 8776 6168
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Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), established in 2009 under the purview of the Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia, is entrusted with developing and nurturing the “Malaysia Healthcare” brand. MHTC enhances, coordinates, and promotes Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry by fostering industry collaborations and building valuable public-private partnerships both domestically and internationally. With 80 member hospitals nationwide, MHTC continues to elevate the healthcare travel ecosystem through strong branding, seamless patient experiences, and strategic market initiatives. In line with these efforts, MHTC is spearheading the Malaysia Year of Medical Tourism (MYMT) 2026, the nation’s first dedicated year to celebrate and advance healthcare travel. MYMT 2026 serves as a milestone initiative to showcase Malaysia’s world-class healthcare offerings, strengthen its position as the premier global healthcare destination, and highlight the industry’s significant contribution to the national economy. More information can be found at https://www.mhtc.org.my/.
