Plans to position Thailand as a leading medical tourism destination are being revived, starting with an effort to persuade foreigners that it is safe to visit the country as political tensions recede, says public health minister Jurin Laksanavisit.The minister says his immediate priority is to listen to the concerns and proposals of people in health care and related businesses. As medical tourism is a key element, support from the Tourism Authority of Thailand will be required. “In the short term, we will require some roadshows to restore the confidence in safety among foreign patients when they come here to get medical treatment."
Concern about safety was heightened during the ten weeks of anti-government protests that culminated in violence and arson in mid-May. At one point the red-shirt protesters invaded Chulalongkorn Hospital, claiming it was harbouring soldiers. Images of the chaotic scenes as the hospital attempted to evacuate hundreds of patients were seen worldwide.
Thailand over the past decade has developed a thriving medical tourism industry, capitalising on high-quality, well-equipped private hospitals and skilled practitioners offering quality care at far less cost than in developed countries. Thailand has demonstrated good potential, proven by the increasing number of foreign patients, and worldwide recognition of Thai health care and other services such as massage. Traditional Thai and alternative medicines are likely to attract more foreign visitors for seeking treatment in Thailand. According to the Department of Health 1.5 million foreign patients visited Thailand last year for medical and health tourism, compared with 630,000 in 2004. Wattanosoth Hospital in Bangkok reports that foreign patients have delayed their visits recently because of political unrest and the imposition of a state of emergency. 35% of the hospital’s patients come from overseas, mostly from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Not everyone is convinced that stating that everything is now safe will be enough to restore tourism and medical tourism, as this year’s problems are just a continuation of earlier unsolved internal troubles. Apichart Sankary of The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) has serious doubts on Thailand's revised official tourist target for 2010 of 14.1 million “This is only the minister’s dream. It is not the reality we all recognise in the business. If we can reach 10 million, we will be lucky."
While the health minister may suggest that a few roadshows in countries that send people to Thailand will be enough, others disagree. Suraphon Svetasreni of the Tourism Authority of Thailand is among those believing that Thailand must restore confidence in Asian markets before advertising campaigns can be launched,” We have to restore confidence in Asian markets such as China, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan because these markets can recover quickly. Then we have to move to medium and long-haul markets to regain the business in time for the high season.”
Under the banner ‘Together We Can’, government officials and private sector businesses have agreed to brainstorm marketing strategies to rebuild confidence, although no specific dates, meetings or action steps have yet been announced. A medical tourism network to boost business in Thailand was launched recently in Bangkok. The Medical Tourism Cluster (MTC) intends to recruit a wide range of tourism players who offer wellness and medical services in Thailand. It will coordinate business contacts and sales leads between cluster members and overseas medical tourism providers. Network founder Prakit Chinamourphong says that the MTC could help boost medical tourism by connecting local companies to overseas markets and suppliers. Within Thailand, Phuket has become a major participant in the medical tourism sector and ranks second only to Bangkok in terms of the volume of foreign patients seeking treatments.
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