Not only the natural beauty that has tourism potential in Indonesia but also medical tourism. Over time, the expansion of the tourism sector brings various forms of tourism diversification. One form of tourism diversification also touches the world of health with the development of medical tourism.
Medical tourism is experiencing rapid development and has now become a global industry. Indonesia has a great opportunity in medical tourism by drastically improving its health care in the last decade. Government spending on health care was around 3.1% of the total gross domestic product in 2018. Let’s look at the information below to see the potential of medical tourism in Indonesia!
What is Medical Tourism?
Medical tourism can be defined as traveling from home to other destinations to improve one’s health condition as a type of recreation. This includes obtaining medical and alternative services, as well as all other forms of tourism carried out to deal with health problems. Simply put, medical tourism focuses on treatment activities to cure a disease accompanied by tourism activities.
Initially, medical tourism referred to the travel of tourists from developing countries to developed countries to pursue treatments that were not available in their homeland. However, medical tourism is carried out by tourists from developing countries to developed countries, but vice versa.
Many tourists travel from developed countries to other countries to access health services because of the relatively lower cost of care and attractive innovations.
Potential of Medical Tourism in Indonesia
The potential of medical tourism in Indonesia is quite promising, with great enthusiasm for developing health tourism in the country. Medical tourism is currently a program relied upon to revive Indonesia’s tourism sector and creative economy.
Many steps have been taken to ensure Indonesia’s readiness to support medical tourism, one of which is the initiation of breakthroughs and synergies that will transform the Sanur area, Bali, into a new reference for fitness and health tourism in Asia. The site is expected to become the country’s first exceptional health economic zone.
To achieve this target, the Bali International Hospital (Bali International Hospital) was constructed as a first step. Bali International Hospital is scheduled to start operating in 2023 with standard clinical protocols, management techniques, and patient care equivalent to the Mayo Clinic without forgetting the element of local wisdom. This initial step is also expected to reduce the number of Indonesians who travel abroad to obtain health services.
It should be noted that Indonesia is also well-spent with good-quality medical personnel. Indonesia has great power and potential to become a new center for health and wellness tourism in Asia and even the world and has many wellness services that no one else has. The existence of the Bali International Hospital is expected to help increase the number of tourists visiting Indonesia and reduce the number of Indonesians who go abroad to seek international standard health care.
Medical Tourism Success Factors
Indonesia is not the leading destination for global health tourism, but the opportunity to compete still exists. There are four keys to success in the development of medical tourism, namely:
1. Cost
Economic factors, such as costs, benefits, and insurance, are essential. Therefore, affordable prices are one of the important considerations for people in conducting health tourism abroad to provide more help for tourists.
2. Medical Skills
In this case, the medical prowess factor is related to the high quality of the health facilities provided and the adequacy of the number of reliable specialists. The medical skill factor will further support medical tourism if it is accompanied by fitness factors such as well-being, relaxation behavior, and increased health and pleasure.
3. Infrastructure
Infrastructure factors and government policies also determine the success of medical tourism. This factor relates to safety, ease of access, security, public transportation, and comfortable facilities.
4. Culture
Cultural factors involve various aspects, such as a familiar health system, religiosity, language and communication, ethical issues, and distance from the country of origin. These multiple factors determine the success of a country’s medical tourism, plus other aspects concerning food, climate, people who serve, and different natural resources.
Policies Regarding Medical Tourism in Indonesia
One of the policies regarding medical tourism in Indonesia is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Health Tourism by the Minister of Health and the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy. This agreement is expected to increase the success of tourism and health development, including medical tourism.
In addition, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, representatives of hospitals, and health associations also formed a work team called Indonesia Wellness and Healthcare Tourism (IWHT) as a commitment to medical tourism.
That was information about the potential of medical tourism in Indonesia. As one of the world’s tourist destinations that is in great demand and has a diversity of traditions and cultures, as well as traditional medicines and health services, Indonesia has enormous potential for medical tourism. Of course, this needs to be accompanied by a structured, efficient, timely, and comprehensive project execution under managerial details, profits, and organizational policies.
This is where Skha’s Implementation service can help you. The professional and experienced team from Skha will ensure that your business can achieve its targets with proper execution, including in the medical tourism sector. Learn more about Skha’s business strategy implementation services through our services page.
Reference:
Bangun Health Tourism, Seperti Apa Potensi dan Persiapan Indonesia?
https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/12/25/053822626/melihat-potensi-pasar-wisata-kesehatan-global-bagaimana-posisi-indonesia?page=all
https://maritim.go.id/kembangkan-wisata-medis-pemerintah-canangkan-pembentukan-indonesia-health/#:~:text=Regulasi%20ini%20antara%20lain