By V. Sivaji
Penang’s medical tourism received a further boost with the signing of the Protocol of Medical Tourism Collaboration between Penang Centre of Medical Tourism (P.MED) and PT Citilink Indonesia (Airlines).
The event was held at the G Hotel Gurney yesterday.
Present to witness the ceremony was Penang Chief Minister YAB Chow Kon Yeow, accompanied by the State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy YB Yeoh Soon Hin, Penang Global Tourism chief executive officer Ooi Chok Yan, Executive director of Penang Centre of Medical Tourism (P.MED), Mary Ann Harris and other captains of the industry.
Representing Citilink Indonesia was the chief commercial officer of the airline, Ichwan F. Argus, vice president of sales and distribution, Emir Bustaman along with the Indonesian Consul-General Republic of Indonesia, Bambang Suharto and the Consul-General of the Royal Thai Consulate-General, Raschada Jiwalai.
“I am glad that today Penang has emerged even stronger and better than before. We have a resilience that enables us to weather every storm and become better and stronger.
“According to the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), from 2015-2019. the industry has grown at a cumulative average growth rate of 17 percent in 2019. Penang received nearly 480,000 medical tourists generating RM730 million in revenue,” said Chow in his address.
Meanwhile, to reinforce the sector, the agency has also prepared a video both in English and Bahasa Indonesia to showcase all that Penang has to offer in terms of health care.
Yeoh added that Indonesia has always been our major source market for medical tourism due to our language and cultural similarity.
“In the first 11 months of 2022, Penang welcomed 144,975 international medical arrivals of which Indonesia contributed 54 percent, followed closely by Bangladesh and India.
“Penang’s medical tourism has increased exponentially, from RM66 million in 2021 toRM285 million in 2022.
“We hope to expand the outreach and connectivity between Penang and Indonesia, and enhance the frequency of the current flights from Jakarta and Medan, as well as embark on more destinations from Indonesia to Penang,” added Yeoh.
P.MED has some 13 members with 2,500 beds offering expertise in cardiology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopeadics among others specializations.
