Origin and Destination Markets
With the imminent creation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and the further integration of the North and South Asian economic groupings, a higher level of medical tourism is predicted in the Asian Region. For example, more Cambodians may use Thailand’s hospitals services once the ASEAN Economic Community begins in late 2015 (Travel Weekly, 2013). These patients will enter at overland checkpoints and use the facilities of the more sophisticated provincial hospitals, or go to Bangkok for treatment. In its 26 August 2013 report, the Travel Weekly travel magazine noted that there were over 2 million medical tourists in 2012-2013 that sought treatment in Thailand. The report suggested that, even so, the advent of the AEC will bring further business opportunities for private hospitals in the Thai provinces bordering Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
There are currently over 150 hospitals in Thailand that have met the governance and facility/staff requirements that would allow them to serve the medical tourism market likely to be generated by the AEC. However, many of these are often already overcrowded with local cases, and are in any event not geared to treating inbound tourists other than in emergencies. Language is another major problem for hospitals when dealing with medical tourists. Intra-regional competitors Singapore and Malaysia, using their command of English, are promoting their medical services in countries like Cambodia, in competition with Thailand’s top hospitals. As a result, Malaysia is becoming a popular tourism destination for Cambodians and others (Chee, 2010). Promotion of Malaysian medical services in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos is organized directly from Kuala Lumpur. At present some 50,000 Cambodians visit Malaysia each year, and the reasons for this trip for many of them include medical check-ups. There are alternative destinations for Cambodians, including the USA; but Malaysian hospital fees are 25% below the United States, Thailand is slightly lower at 30% on the same scale, Singapore is at 35% of the USA, and India at 20% (Medical Tourism Magazine, 2014).