The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council is working hard to promote Malaysia as a medical tourism destination for people from Oman.

Kavitha Mathuvay from MHTC explains, "There is encouraging market growth in Oman. It has grown 50% since 2010. In 2012, 1,000 Omani patients went to Malaysian hospitals, increasing to 1,300 in 2013. Among the GCC countries, Omanis are ranked third among medical travellers to Malaysia."

MHTC is also working with Oman's Ministry of Health to promote Malaysia as a destination for medical referrals. It has to compete with India, Thailand and European countries for referrals.

One attraction for people from Oman is that many features appeal to Muslims, such as the availability of halal food, access to prayer rooms in hospitals, and services in Arabic.

Omanis seek treatment in Malaysia for cardiology, orthopaedics, oncology, ophthalmology, IVF and neurology.

The potential market is limited as nearly half of those living in Oman are expatriate workers; mostly low paid domestic and manual workers .The need to go overseas may only last until new free public hospitals are built.

Healthcare for Omani citizens is free; they get free treatment in public hospitals, while expatriates do not. The healthcare sector in Oman is set to undergo a major expansion, with both the government and the private sector investing in new medical cities as well as developing a number of smaller hospitals.

source:IMTJ