Travel News 31 March 2009

Despite economic downturn medical tourism rises in Malaysia

Despite the current economic situation, Malaysia is gaining prominence as a destination for medical tourism. More international tourists are seeking medical treatment in the country and the number of private healthcare providers catering to medical tourism has sprung up in recent years. Currently, Indonesians account for 70% of medical tourists to Malaysia.

According to the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia, the Malaysian medical tourism sector is expected to contribute RM540mil in 2010 by treating about 625,000 medical tourists.

“Malaysia Truly Asia” campaign wins top honour at Berlin tourism fair

“Malaysia Truly Asia” advertising campaign won the gold award in the print advertising category at the world’s largest tourism fair, the International Tourismus-Boerse (ITB), in Berlin, Germany, recently. The campaign’s basic premise that Malaysia is the melting pot of some of Asia’s greatest civilisations – the Malays, Chinese and Indians as well as other indigenous groups – is helping to place Malaysia as a world tourism destination and one which highlights the essence of the country’s unique multi-racial, religious and cultural attractions against all others.
Malaysia was also awarded third place for the “Most Popular Destination in Asia” by Go Asia Awards, after Thailand and Indonesia.

Plans to revamp ’second home’ programme

Malaysia plans to ramp up its second home programme to derive more economic spin-offs, noticeably in the area of investments and real estate, where nearly RM5 billion of the latter were sold to foreign applicants over the past five years.

Participants can now ‘invest actively in Malaysia’ and those above 50 years old can work in critical sectors of the economy where locals lack the expertise or experience – subject to the approval of an expatriate committee.

Approved participants get a 10-year social visit pass.

The government also recently announced it would offer permanent resident status to high net-worth individuals that bring more than US$2 million (RM7.2 million) into the country for investments or savings.

The same consideration would be made for ‘highly skilled foreign professionals’.