The health tourism portal being developed by Tropical Flow Sdn. Bhd.,
a privately owned company based in Malaysia, has received the support of
Tourism Malaysia.

The dedicated portal aims to draw together information related to
health tourism in a single platform. Currently, health tourism is promoted by
individual healthcare providers or medical groups.

The portal will be the first comprehensive initiative to manage all
aspects of health tourism, i.e. healthcare, wellness, tourism, hospitality and
travel. It aims to be the channel to integrate and network all parties involved,
i.e. travellers seeking healthcare solutions, healthcare providers, wellness
centres, tourism product operators and ground handlers.

The contents of the portal feature medical and nonmedical
information, calendar of events, language translators, currency converters,
testimonies, ecommerce and onlinebooking facilities, 24hour virtual
information centre, and integration with partner sites.

Malaysia is in a good position to promote health tourism due to the
quality and affordability of its healthcare services, the expertise of highlyqualified
medical specialists, and the availability of modern, high tech facilities
and equipment.

Malaysia has become a centre of medical excellence because of its
high quality and affordable stateoftheart
medical facilities and services
along with highly trained and qualified medical specialists. Its network of
private hospitals offer comprehensive services in virtually all medical
disciplines including internal medicine, general surgery, plastic and cosmetic
surgery, orthopaedic surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics,
ophthalmology, speech therapy, radiology, cardiology, dentistry, urology,
nephrology, etc. In addition to providing diagnostic and therapeutic facilities,
these hospitals have full facilities including accident and emergency services,
ambulance services, intensive care units, cardiac care units, operating
theatres, maternity wards, and medical and surgical wards. The country is
further supported by worldclass infrastructure including international airports
and hotels.

In Malaysia, all private medical centres are approved and licensed by
the Ministry of Health (dental healthcare, meanwhile, is governed by the
Malaysian Dental Council to ensure toprate dental facilities and services are
provided to patients). The Ministry of Health has currently identified 35 private
hospitals nationwide that have met the criteria required to be recognised as
providers of health tourism.

In 2004, Malaysia generated foreign exchange earnings of RM105
million from health tourists seeking medical treatment. The 35 private
hospitals recognized and identified by the government promote Malaysia as a
health tourism destination. These hospitals have achieved certification for
internationally recognized standards such as MS 9002 or accreditation by the
Malaysian Society for Quality in Health. Tourism Malaysia forecasts revenue
from health tourism to reach RM2.2 billion in 2010.

Health tourists are attracted to Malaysia as its medical charges and
hospitalization charges are very competitive compared to those in other
countries such as the United States, Europe or even Singapore.

Malaysia is one of the world's most culturally rich and diverse nations.
Although Islam is the official religion, Malaysia has a multiracial and
multiethnic population living in harmony and peace. Malaysia is popular as a
health destination because tourists find it easy and comfortable in terms of
blending into Malaysian culture due to the warm and friendly people.

Issued by: Communications Division, Tourism Malaysia
Date: 16 January 2006