Sarawak medical tourism sees rapid growth; hits 104,106 patients in 2025

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By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, March 12: Sarawak is seeing rapid growth in medical tourism, with 104,106 patients seeking treatment in the State in 2025, up from 76,796 in 2024 and 64,393 in 2023.

Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the increase demonstrates growing confidence among both local and international patients in Sarawak’s healthcare facilities.

“Every patient often comes with family members, who stay for weeks during post-surgery recovery or follow-up treatment.

“This generates significant income for hotels, homestays, service apartments, restaurants and transport services,” he said during the soft launch of the Borneo Global MediTourism Congress and Expo (BGMT) 2026 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.

Of the total patients in 2025, Kuching accounted for 91,688, Miri 10,131, Bintulu 1,767, and Sibu 520, showing that Kuching remains the primary hub for medical tourism in the State.

In 2024, the numbers were 65,320 in Kuching, 7,949 in Miri, 2,972 in Bintulu, and 555 in Sibu, while 2023 recorded 55,499 in Kuching, 5,628 in Miri, 2,864 in Bintulu, and 402 in Sibu.

Abdul Karim noted that Kuching alone has five private hospitals, with additional facilities approved and under development, targeting medical tourism and wellness services. Some hospitals have even set up offices in cities such as Pontianak and Jakarta to attract overseas patients.

While exact revenue from medical tourism is not readily available, Abdul Karim said treatments at private hospitals can cost between RM20,000 and RM30,000 per patient, contributing substantially to Sarawak’s tourism receipts, which exceed RM1 billion per month.

Despite global challenges, including flight disruptions from the Middle East and rising airfares, the minister said Sarawak remains confident of meeting its 2026 target of five million visitors.

“There might be a drop in tourists from Europe or the Middle East coming to Malaysia. When they cancel their trips to the Far East, it may take some time for them to return — possibly six months to a year. The increase in oil prices is also affecting flights, so this will definitely have some impact on us.

“But as far as Sarawak is concerned, we are quite confident in the agencies under the Ministry, including Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) and others. With their promotion efforts, we should still be able to maintain the number of tourists we are targeting for this year,” he added.

Earlier, Abdul Karim officiated the soft launch of the Borneo Global MediTourism Congress and Expo (BGMT) 2026, scheduled to take place at BCCK on October 12 and 13.

Co-organised by Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) and Orbitel Systems Sdn Bhd, BGMT 2026 is expected to attract healthcare professionals, hospitals, insurers, travel facilitators, investors, and policymakers from across ASEAN and beyond.

With the theme “Shaping Sarawak’s Role in the Global Medical Tourism Landscape”, the event will showcase 100 companies, 400 trade delegates, and 3,000 visitors, and is expected to include the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs).

Also present during the soft launch were Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Datuk Michael Tiang; Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP) deputy permanent secretary Julin Alen; MTCP special administrative officer Datu Sherrina Hussaini; Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government advisor Dato Dr Chin Zin Hing; Association of Public Hospitals Malaysia president Dato Dr Kuljit Singh; Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council chief executive officer (CEO) Suriaghandi Suppiah; STB CEO Sharzede Salleh Askor; BESarawak acting CEO Jason Tan; STF president and BGMT organising chairperson Audry Wan Ullok; and BGMT founding director Saiful Busfari. — DayakDaily

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