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New
breed of tourists
" Thailand's hospitals and clinics make a name for themselves
by attracting foreign travellers in need of medical and
aesthetic treatments "...
Gillian de
Marchi flew all the way from Sydney, Australia, stopped
overnight in Bangkok for a dental check-up at Bangkok Dental
Spa Clinic, before continuing her journey the next day. " I
came here because the clinic and Thai dentists are famous in
Sydney. People back home are talking a lot about coming to
Thailand for dental treatment " she said. Located on Sukhumvit
Road, the clinic is also Bangkok's first dental spa. Mrs
Marchi was impressed by its professional expertise and caring
staff. " More than that I can get everything at half the price
I would be required to pay in Sydney. The service and
expertise of doctors are of the same standard. I can't be
happier, " she said.
Mrs Marchi is one of the several thousand Australians who come
to Thailand for medical treatment every year. Not only
Australians, in recent years, people from around the world
have been coming to Thailand for medical treatment and
surgery. It is estimated that more than 300,000 people from
145 countries have travelled to Thailand for surgical
procedures. Even Singaporeans, whose government has been
strongly promoting medical tourism in the island country,
choose Thailand for medical treatment. " Because it's cheaper
and the quality of service is on par with Singapore, " said Dr
Chow U-Jin, managing director of Health Aesthetics, a
Singapore-based medical retreat consultancy. " And they can
combine it with shopping and travelling around Thailand."
Dentistry is particularly popular among foreigners. And the
other reason they come to Thailand is that they can keep it
private and remain anonymous." Some people don't want others
to know if they are having surgery so they travel to Thailand
on holiday and get the job done here, " Dr Chow explained.
John Uittenbogaard, managing director of Australia-based
International Medical Tours, says that quality, affordability,
anonymity and accessibility to medical procedures are the main
reasons why Australians choose to travel to Thailand. And mind
you, it's not just them but a growing number of Americans and
Europeans have been coming to Thailand for the same reason. In
some European countries, the cost of medical treatment is
high, much higher than in Thailand, and there is usually a
long waiting period before patients can see the doctor. By
coming here they can cut medical costs and receive treatment
at a time of their choosing.
Word of
mouth and the Internet
Most foreign
patients know about Thailand from word of mouth, usually from
friends and relatives who have received treatment in Thailand,
or from the Internet.
" A lot of my customers heard ( about Thailand ) from friends
or relatives, but there were others who learnt about us from
the internet, " said Dr Watchareewon Porncharoen who found her
dental spa a year ago and posted it on the Web site. The same
goes for Bangkok Phuket Hospital. The good thing about the
Internet is that patients can contact directly with the
hospitals or clinics and compare the quality and price range
of services they offer. Travel agents also play a part. Given
the current boom, very soon we should be seeing a new breed of
travel agents specialising in medical tours.
Apart from the normal airline booking, hotel accommodation and
devising tour packages, they will be required to advise
travellers about the medical services available at
destinations they are visiting." It's an area that normal
travel agents can't do because it requires special expertise
or doctors who can address the problems and offer consultation
to customers, " said Dr Chow, who helps Health Aesthetics
locate doctors in Thailand.
These so-called medical tour agents would be required to work
directly with doctors and hospitals, arrange appointments for
customers and follow it up with thorough counselling before
and after the treatment or surgery.
Some hospitals are already moving in this direction. For
example, Phuket Health and Travel, a subsidiary of Bangkok
Phuket Hospital, was set up in 2000 to cater to the medical
and leisure travel segment of the market. It works and
cooperates with regular travel agents who are one of its main
sources of clients.
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