A few years ago, medical tourism or medical tourism became a familiar term and has attracted attention as a new tourism market segment with high growth potential. According to The Medical Tourism Association (MTA), it is estimated that more than 14 million people travel abroad for medical care worldwide.

The global medical tourism market is expanding exponentially. The main reason comes from the cost of medical care in developed countries that are very expensive. Compared to quality medical care at a more tangible price than other countries including access to time-consuming treatments, evident from

• 56% of patients want better treatment, while 22% want to pay less.

• 18% of patients looked for treatment options not available in their country and 10% looked for the fastest possible treatment and did not want to queue.

In addition to prices and advancements in treatment technology and nursing care standards, other factors that affect the choice of destination country include convenience and cost of traveling such as cheap airfare, easy visa application process and various accommodation options.

Why "Thailand" meets the needs of the Medical Tourism market?

In the Medical Tourism Index (MTI) 2020-2021 Global Destination conducted by the International Healthcare Research Center, Thailand's medical tourism industry is ranked in the top 5 out of 46 countries based on Destination Attractiveness and Medical Tourism Cost factors. SCB EIC Research Center analyzes that in 2023, the Thai medical tourism market this year will recover to a higher level than 2019, which was the year before the COVID-19 crisis, which is expected to be worth more than 29 billion baht. Driven by mega-trends in health and as many countries around the world are entering a sliver economy, the middle class is growing and purchasing power is increasing across the world. Non-communicable diseases NCDs are on the rise worldwide and after the COVID-19 crisis, people are becoming more and more health conscious.

In the view of SCB EIC, Thailand has strengths that attract tourists, namely reasonable prices at a competitive level, wide range of expertise. The most internationally standardized medical facility in ASEAN and there are many popular tourist attractions, while MEDTOURPRESS, a Middle Eastern media that presents medical tourism. One of the reasons why Thailand is at the forefront of the medical tourism market is its ability to treat specific diseases. such as organ transplant infertility treatment, etc.

However, because the current competition in this market is very high. In which Thailand must face competition from countries such as Turkey, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, who are accelerating the development of leading medical centers to penetrate the medical tourism market, including the risk of brain drain (Brain Drain)) and disruption from Health Tech technology. SCB EIC has therefore suggested 4 strategies that will help push Thailand to upgrade to become a leader in the medical tourism market, namely:

1) Branding of medical tourism in the global market by developing expertise in specific treatments and using Soft power to encourage foreigners to be interested

2) Build alliances with various business sectors such as airlines, hotels, spas, rehabilitation centers, tour operators, insurance companies, especially offering comprehensive packages including medical tourism. extending to health tourism (Wellness Tourism) promoting tourism in the country It helps to facilitate and can organize promotions to reach more tourists.

3) Upgrading service quality and advancement in treatment to promote Thailand to be a leading medical center and be able to compete with world-class competitors. by creating a network of cooperation between the private sector, the academia, and the public sector, as well as public-government cooperation as well

4) Elevate Thailand to be a leading medical center by using HealthTech to increase efficiency and convenience in providing services to add more selling points for businesses

Based on the information above, a summary of 6 reasons that lead Thailand to become a leader in the medical tourism market are:

1. Price: Medical expenses in Thailand hospitals are 50-80% lower than those in the United States, Canada, Europe.

2. Treatment quality: Thai doctors are knowledgeable and well trained. Many doctors are qualified from medical schools in the UK and provide professional care to their patients.

3. Hospitals that have received service quality standards: The service quality of many hospitals in Thailand has been recognized as world-class. Many of them are JCI Accreditation certified. Private hospital operators are ramping up their service capabilities to attract medical tourists around the world. Although at present, Thai private hospitals have the potential and readiness to support medical tourists that are quite good, many hospitals are accelerating to develop and upgrade their services in various forms to seize this opportunity, such as developing the hospital into a specialized medical center, expanding cooperation with business partners, building a comprehensive medical and health center and the application of digital technology.

4. Convenience in issuing visas: According to the policy to support and push Thailand into an international health center (Medical Hub) by 2026, the government has reduced visa fees for medical treatment for a period of 1 year, which foreign patients can travel to. Thailand many times and not more than 90 days each time

5. Popular tourist attractions: Thailand has always been famous for tourism. There are also different marketing strategies aimed at advertising basic medical services such as health check-ups. Outpatient treatment is inexpensive for general tourists who originally intended to travel only to receive treatment and turn them into medical tourism market customers.

6. Continuous Marketing Strategies: The medical tourism industry in Thailand dates to the 1990s, when many countries in Southeast Asia used it as a tool to generate money into the country. Thailand began to actively promote Medical Tourism in 2004 using a marketing strategy that focuses on tangible prices, complete service highlighting various aspects of treatment since cancer treatment, beauty and plastic surgery. There is a list of hospitals that specialize in specific areas helping people who are interested in finding information and making decisions easily.

Importantly, both the public and private sectors see opportunities and develop plans to penetrate the medical tourism market. The government has a policy to support and push Thailand to become an international health hub (Medical Hub) by 2026 from investment promotion through the BOI. In 2022, the government announced the establishment of the Andaman Health Economic Corridor (AWC) covering 6 southern provinces to develop expertise in treating specific diseases. It has started to approve the Andaman International Health Center project in Phuket and to drive towards achieving that goal Recently, Thailand has proposed to host a Specialized Expo in 2028 under the name Expo 2028 Phuket Thailand with the concept of "Life of the Future, Sharing Prosperity." living together as one” to lead a peaceful and harmonious life based on good health and balanced wealth.

This event is considered a world-class event. to create jobs, generate income for Thai people The event is scheduled to take place from March 20 to June 17, 2028, using a total area of 141 rai in Mai Khao Subdistrict, Thalang District, which is an area under the supervision of Vachira Phuket Hospital. Phuket has made it through to the final round along with 4 other cities: San Carlos de Bariloche in Argentina, Belgrade in Serbia, Malaga in Spain, and Minnesota in the US.

The next step will be the selection of the host country for the event by representatives from BIE member countries. The winners will be announced in June 2023. In the meantime, we can encourage Thailand to be selected to host Expo 2028 Phuket Thailand by scanning the QR Code in the picture or visiting https://support.expo2028thailand.com/th Then select domicile. and press support from today - June 20, 2023

Source
https://medigence.com/blog/top-medical-tourism-destinations-in-the-world/#factors-affecting-the-choice-of-a-medical-travel-destination
https://medex.co.th/why-thailand-is-becoming-a-top-destination-for-medical-tourism
https://medtourpress.ir/en/why-medical-tourism-in-thailand/
https://www.medicaltourism.com/mti/home