Thailand's medical tourism crown at risk
24-May-14, The Nation
Thailand is in danger of losing its crown as the world's top destination for medical tourism if foreigners looking for low-cost, quality healthcare are scared off by political unrest, especially at a time of growing competition from Asian rivals. The Army seized power in a coup on Thursday after failing to prod bitter political rivals into a compromise to end six months of turmoil, prompting several governments to warn their citizens to think again before travelling to Thailand.
Bangkok Hospital
Tourism accounts for 10 per cent of the Thai economy and, of the 26.5 million people who visited last year, about 2.5 million came for medical reasons, including spa and healthcare services, according to figures from the Department of Export Promotion.
Top-end Bangkok hospital Bumrungrad attracts a lot of patients from the Middle East and competes with SG Raffles Medical Group and Healthway Medical Corp in Singapore. It saw a 12-per-cent drop in foreign inpatients in the first quarter and an 18-per-cent fall in outpatients.