Sarawak is increasingly emerging as a medical tourism destination - Abdul Karim

KUCHING, 13 Oct: Sarawak is strengthening its position as a medical tourism destination following the significant increase in the number of health tourists visiting the state over the past three years.

Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the number of health tourists increased from 64,393 people in 2023 to 76,796 people in 2024, before reaching 104,106 people in 2025.

"These figures give us confidence but they also come with responsibility, as the industry grows, expectations will increase. Patients will expect higher standards of service, international partners will demand higher professionalism and investors will expect better infrastructure", he said.

He said this while addressing the Gala Aluan Dinner and Awards of Excellence for Medical Tourism Borneo Global MediTourism Congress & Expo (BGMT) 2026 at a hotel here, last night.

According to him, the development reflects the great potential of Sarawak's meditourism sector, thus opening up opportunities for the state to expand its market reach and strengthen cooperation with international partners.

He said the development of the meditourism industry requires a strong ecosystem, involving not only hospitals and healthcare professionals but also hospitality, tourism, technology sectors as well as organizations capable of building cross-border cooperation networks.

Obviously, each component plays an important role in shaping the patient experience and building Sarawak's reputation as a destination that offers quality, expertise and confidence to international health tourists.

In this regard, he hoped that the BGMT platform could continue to strengthen ties between industry players, opening up new business opportunities and fostering innovation in the sector.

Meanwhile, he also described the launch of Borneo Medical Tourism Excellence Award as an important step to recognise the contributions of industry players, in addition to encouraging improvement in service quality and encouraging more investment.

At the TVSarawak Council (TVS) it was successful to embrace Medical Tourism Leadership Award (Media Excellence and Advocacy).

In total, a total of six medical tourism awards were contested at the ceremony. -TVS