The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi

Medical tourism is defined as a movement of people from one country to another to receive medical treatment as well as to enjoy site tourism attractions. Medical tourism industry in Malaysia was introduced in 1998. The industry is growing fast that it has generated a profit of MYR 1.5 billion and th...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Azmi, Nur Alia
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/32415/
_version_ 1848808018077024256
author Azmi, Nur Alia
author_facet Azmi, Nur Alia
author_sort Azmi, Nur Alia
building UiTM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Medical tourism is defined as a movement of people from one country to another to receive medical treatment as well as to enjoy site tourism attractions. Medical tourism industry in Malaysia was introduced in 1998. The industry is growing fast that it has generated a profit of MYR 1.5 billion and the number of medical tourists 25.8 million in 2018. Currently, Malaysia has become one of the best countries in the Southeast Asia region (SEA) in the health tourism industry and is competing with developed countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Japan, Brazil and Singapore. Based on recent statistics, Malaysia is on her way to be the best medical tourism hub in SEA region, yet literatures need to be update on the factors, who are the main actors behind the rising of medical tourism and the challenges they face as well as the feasible strategies undertaken by the government and relevant parties to promote the industry. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the development of medical tourism in Malaysia through three core elements namely factors, actors, and current strategies that lead to the development of Malaysia's medical tourism. This research has applied qualitative method. In-depth interviews were conducted with eighteen (18) informants from the government ministries, agencies and private hospitals in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Content analysis through government reports on medical tourism were also analyzed. The data collected from the interview were scrutinized through thematic analysis. The findings are as follows: (1) factors that made Malaysia a preferred medical tourism destination are: high quality services, affordable cost, site attraction places, Syariah medical practices, government initiatives and smart partnerships. (2) The key actors that drives the medical tourism industry are: government ministries and agencies, and the private hospitals and finally (3) the government has implemented two major strategies to promote the industry, namely smart partnerships and to increase quality healthcare services. The findings contribute significantly towards literature in the field of study and these findings can help relevant agencies to develop various strategies to promote and improve the industry.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T22:52:02Z
format Thesis
id uitm-32415
institution Universiti Teknologi MARA
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T22:52:02Z
publishDate 2020
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling uitm-324152021-12-14T03:45:32Z https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/32415/ The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi Azmi, Nur Alia Public administration Medical tourism is defined as a movement of people from one country to another to receive medical treatment as well as to enjoy site tourism attractions. Medical tourism industry in Malaysia was introduced in 1998. The industry is growing fast that it has generated a profit of MYR 1.5 billion and the number of medical tourists 25.8 million in 2018. Currently, Malaysia has become one of the best countries in the Southeast Asia region (SEA) in the health tourism industry and is competing with developed countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Japan, Brazil and Singapore. Based on recent statistics, Malaysia is on her way to be the best medical tourism hub in SEA region, yet literatures need to be update on the factors, who are the main actors behind the rising of medical tourism and the challenges they face as well as the feasible strategies undertaken by the government and relevant parties to promote the industry. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the development of medical tourism in Malaysia through three core elements namely factors, actors, and current strategies that lead to the development of Malaysia's medical tourism. This research has applied qualitative method. In-depth interviews were conducted with eighteen (18) informants from the government ministries, agencies and private hospitals in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Content analysis through government reports on medical tourism were also analyzed. The data collected from the interview were scrutinized through thematic analysis. The findings are as follows: (1) factors that made Malaysia a preferred medical tourism destination are: high quality services, affordable cost, site attraction places, Syariah medical practices, government initiatives and smart partnerships. (2) The key actors that drives the medical tourism industry are: government ministries and agencies, and the private hospitals and finally (3) the government has implemented two major strategies to promote the industry, namely smart partnerships and to increase quality healthcare services. The findings contribute significantly towards literature in the field of study and these findings can help relevant agencies to develop various strategies to promote and improve the industry. 2020 Thesis NonPeerReviewed text en https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/32415/1/32415.pdf Azmi, Nur Alia (2020) The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi. (2020) Masters thesis, thesis, Universiti Teknologi MARA. <http://terminalib.uitm.edu.my/32415.pdf>
spellingShingle Public administration
Azmi, Nur Alia
The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi
title The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi
title_full The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi
title_fullStr The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi
title_full_unstemmed The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi
title_short The development of medical tourism in Malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / Nur Alia Azmi
title_sort development of medical tourism in malaysia: factors, actors, and strategies / nur alia azmi
topic Public administration
url https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/32415/