Selangor's gateway position makes it favourite choice for healthcare tourism

SHAH ALAM: Selangor's position as the gateway to Malaysia has made the state among the main preferences of tourists to receive healthcare and medical services.
Three major airports – KL International Airport (KLIA), klia2 in Sepang and Subang Skypark Terminal in Subang – that are located in the state facilitate access to visitors intending to get such services besides the choice of selecting the chain of hotels that offer wellness and spa services.
Selangor is the third state in Malaysia that is most popular state for healthcare tourism after Penang and Malacca.
"Selangor has good prospects in healthcare tourism as it has 12 government hospitals, over 30 private hospitals and medical centres that are mushrooming," Selangor Tourism general manager Noorul Ashikin Mohd Din told Bernama here today.
She said Selangor Tourism has set healthcare tourism as among the 10 major tourist segments in 2017, aimed at propelling Selangor to the top position.
She said Selangor has some of the best medical expertise in the country and most of its private hospitals are recognised at the international level with quality standard such as MS ISO9002 and accredited by the Malaysia Society for Quality in Health (MSQH).
Hospitals and medical centres in Selangor are also equipped with world class facilities and intensive technology healthcare facilities to ensure healthcare practice in the country remained the best, she said.
Noorul Ashikin said the rate of medical fees and costs of entry to hospitals in Malaysia, particulalry Selangor was also very competitive compared with other developed countries.
As such, she said Tourism Selangor was constantly taking several approaches to make healthcare in Selangor the best, for example organising healthcare tourism based events such as the Selangor Wellness Living Expo (SWELL) 2017 recently.
The three-day expo was attended by 75 particpants, including healthcare providers, medical centres and hospitals as well as healthcare equipment suppliers.
"SWELL 2017 is one of the platforms for healthcare product operators to exhibit and encourage the community to try the various healthcare products that are most innovative as well as healthy lifestyle," she said.
The expo also showcased the hospitals and medical centres in Selangor through the healthcare tourism segment.
Noorul Ashikin also said Selangor projected 7.2 million domestic and foreign tourists this year and the figure included healthcare tourists.
She said Malaysia's status as an Islamic and 'halal friendly' country also attracted many tourists from Arab countries and Selangor without exception received the spillover.
"Several popular locations in the state that are their favourite places to get healthcare services included Sunway Lagoon, Sunway Pyramid, Kanching Waterfalls, Avani Sepang Goldcoast Luxury Resort, i-City Shah Alam, One Centre Shopping Utama, The Curve Damansara and Formula 1 Sepang Circuit," she added. — Bernama