Kota Kinabalu: The Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment (KePKAS) offers Tourism Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (Mice) as a stimulus for organisations to choose Sabah as a preferred destination.
According to State Development, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew, Mice is one of the strategies to further promote the State’s tourism industry, especially the re-opening of international borders post-pandemic.
“Touching on Medical Tourism and Health Care, it is not a new thing in Sabah where the opening of the first private hospital, the Sabah Medical Centre (SMC) in 1986, paved way for Medical Tourism to develop in the State at least in the first 10 years of the millennium.
“International visitors from more than 10 countries also seek treatment at SMC for various medical services, she said.
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“Private hospitals in Sabah such as Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu, KPJ Sabah Specialist Hospital and Jesselton Medical Centre and several other medical centres offer a complete range of medical and surgical services as healthcare services,” she said while officiating the 34th Annual Scientific Congress of the Malaysian Oncology Society (Ascomos) at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC).
She said there is an increase in the number of foreign patients at Sabah KPJ Specialist Hospital with a total of 20.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the third quarter of 2022.
“Based on the revenue statistics generated from the provision of medical and health services to patients, there has been an increase of 2.5 per cent in the same period.
“As for Gleneagles Hospital Kota Kinabalu, it has world-class healthcare that is trusted globally, based on the accreditation of the Malaysian Health Quality Association (MSQH).
“The number of A&E (Accident and Emergency) visits to hospitals by international tourists between January and September this year doubled, compared to the same period last year which is due to the resumption of direct scheduled flights from China, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore,” she said.
Also present were the Head of the National Radiotherapy and Oncology Service, Dr Ros Suzanna Ahmad Bustamam, Director of Sabah Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Dr Marcus Netto, and Oncology Medical Officer as the Organising Chairperson, Dr Flora Chong Li Tze.
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