The combination of quality healthcare and the country’s popularity as an exotic tourist destination with beautiful beaches and a tropical climate conducive for post-treatment rest and recovery makes it easy to understand why Thailand continues to lure medical tourists. The country is considered one of the world’s great development success stories, both economically and socially. During periods of rapid change, healthcare was never overlooked and steadily improved in terms of quality and access from the mid-1970s onwards. The rise of the private healthcare sector was key to this success. In 2003, the government recognised the potential that lay beyond its borders, and began actively promoting the nation as a medical hub for international patients.

According to recent research conducted by the Bank of Ayudhya, today Thailand is home to 38,512 medical facilities that offer some form of healthcare service. Of these, 65% are private clinics and hospitals, while 35% are state-funded general and community hospitals. The bank’s analyst, Poonsuk Ninkitsaranont, detailed that these are further divided according to the size and range of medical services offered, with 98.3% classified as primary healthcare providers (9,800 public health and district health promotion centres and 24,800 private clinics). The remaining 1.7% is comprised of 664 secondary and tertiary healthcare providers, 294 of which are managed by the Ministry of Public Health, local administrative bodies, state enterprises or Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and 370 private hospitals.

Of the 370 private hospitals, 116 are located in Bangkok offering a total of 14,000 beds, and 254 in the provinces with a total of 22,000 beds. A large hospital is classed as one with 250 or more beds. Thailand has 22 large private hospitals, most of which are in Bangkok and the central region. There are also 255 medium-sized hospitals (31–249 beds), and 101 small hospitals (1–30 beds) around the country. Thailand has 65 Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited medical facilities. This is the fourth largest number of JCI-accredited organisations in the world, behind only the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil. Many private hospitals also have an international liaison department with multilingual staff to assist patients. 

The market leader of Thailand’s private sector is Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS). It has 58 hospitals, which includes 14 Centres of Excellence located in key popular destinations, namely Bangkok, Pattaya, Rayong, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket and Hat Yai. Samitivej and Phyathai hospitals in Bangkok are also under the BDMS umbrella. Each centre provides high-quality comprehensive medical services for locals, the expatriate community, and medical tourists. BDMS has also expanded in Cambodia, though as the country still has limited tertiary facilities many patients still seek treatment in Thailand. However, numbers at the Royal Phnom Penh Hospital are experiencing strong growth.

The group’s largest hospital is located in Bangkok and is comprised of four facilities: Bangkok Hospital, Bangkok Heart Hospital, Bangkok Cancer Hospital Wattanosoth, and Bangkok International Hospital. Ralf Krewer, Director of International Marketing at the hospital, told ITIJ that up to 31 August 2023, they had treated 118,964 medical tourists. He added: “The top 10 [source] nations were Myanmar, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Cambodia, Bangladesh, China, the US, the UK and Germany.” Krewer said that, as a super-tertiary hospital, it offers a comprehensive range of services for medical tourists. “In particular, many patients from our key markets are coming for cancer, cardio, spine, neurosurgery and orthopaedics. Patients from niche but strongly growing markets like China are mainly here for IVF and cancer treatments; likewise with Vietnam but also for neurosurgery; and Indonesia for cancer and spine treatments.” He also said that they were seeing an increasing number of patients from European countries coming for health check-ups and elective surgeries.

Provincial hospitals have notably different demographics

Provincial hospitals have notably different demographics. The Bangkok Hospital in the northeastern town of Udon Thani serves a large number of patients from neighbouring Laos, a country where healthcare is poor (the capital Vientiane is just 80km away), who mainly come for childbirth, women’s health, and heart health. Interestingly, Laotians are not categorised as foreigners. Sasiporn Kaocharern, Director of Corporate Marketing Communications at BDMS, told ITIJ that Bangkok Hospital Udon also serves a large number of Swedish, Australian and American patients. “Medical tourism is seen as very important to the province and the government recently announced that Udon Thani will be a key city in driving ‘wellness tourism’. This will make an important contribution to value-based preventive care and medical care as a whole,” she said. In the northern city of Chiang Mai, medical tourists are limited in numbers and mainly come from southwest China, northern Myanmar, and northwestern Laos. Sasiporn went on to explain that Bangkok Hospital Samui is notably different, with the majority of its international patients coming from Germany, France, the UK and the US. “As you may expect in a popular holiday destination, they are mainly being treated for ER trauma, orthopaedics and sports-related injuries,” she said. “Looking forward, a dedicated Wellness Centre is in the pipeline for Samui with products related to aesthetics and health check-ups.”

Another centre for medical excellence in Bangkok is Vejthani Hospital. Joanne Karizza Miguel, Insurance Marketing Executive at the hospital, told ITIJ: “Our patient base includes over 300,000 people from 100 countries around the world, but our primary market comes from the Middle Eastern countries such as Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. We have also experienced a significant influx of patients from Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Vietnam, as well as Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, the Maldives, India, and Ethiopia, plus local residents and the expatriate community.”

Vejthani Hospital was a winner in the 10th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards for Excellence in Innovation in Health Care for orthopaedics

The hospital offers a comprehensive spectrum of medical services, led by specialised professionals in more than 20 Centres of Excellence. These include robotic hip and knee replacement, cardiac, spine and neuroscience. Vejthani Hospital is also home to one of the most advanced orthopaedic centres in Thailand, and surgeons here have treated over 1,000 complex orthopaedic cases. The hospital was the first in Thailand to receive Clinical Care Programme Certification for total hip replacement, lumbar decompression and fixation. “Excellence in orthopaedics has led the hospital to be known as the ‘King of Bones’, a name now used on its new six-storey Orthopedics Center. Moreover, Vejthani Hospital was a winner in the 10th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards for Excellence in Innovation in Health Care for orthopaedics,” said Karizza. She noted that other centres within the hospital were seeing a growing number of patients with neurological diseases, especially paediatric cerebral palsy, cerebral infraction, and brain tumours and malignancies. “We have also observed a rising number of patients seeking care for breast-related concerns, ranging from breast masses to breast cancers. Our commitment to addressing these diverse healthcare needs remains strong,” said Karizza.

According to IQVIA, a provider of analytics, technology solutions and clinical research, in 2019 Thailand welcomed 3.5 million medical travellers, who generated a revenue of $820 million. “This obviously took a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, but was quick to rebound,” said Krewer. “The current trend shows that the number of international medical travellers is expected to reach 40% above 2022 revenue and about 12% above 2019. Treatments that people are coming for remain the same, with the exception that patients from underdeveloped countries tend to have more severe health problems due to the fact that Thailand and their countries remained closed due to the pandemic.”

Vejthani Hospital has also recorded a significant post-Covid bounceback. “There’s been a noticeable resurgence in patient volumes, almost mirroring the pre-Covid era and with signs of significant growth continuing,” said Karizza. “We are seeing new trends in the types of illness, with an increased influx of paediatric and cardiac patients. This is likely due to the long-term effects of Covid-19 on children, which can include respiratory problems and fatigue. Cardiac patients are also on the rise, as the pandemic has exacerbated existing heart conditions and led to new ones.”

In the light of the recent pandemic, wellness is a sector of the medical tourism market that is viewed as having huge potential. For many, the term ‘wellness’ may conjure up an image of a health resort with yoga, detox treatments and healthy menus, and although there is no shortage of such places in Thailand, now there is a strong emphasis on prevention and longevity. Clinics within the BDMS Wellness Centre include preventive cardiology wellness, fertility and wellness, musculoskeletal and rehabilitation, digestive wellness, aesthetic and hair health, and more. “It has proved extremely successful,” Krewer said. “Currently, by far the most medical travellers coming to us are from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

The Ministry of Public Health is also promoting 10 areas of medical and wellness

Ventana Hospital also has a wellness centre that includes a health check-up centre, Skin and Aesthetic Center, and the Vejthani Q-Life Center, which focuses on slowing ageing. “Individuals aged 40 to 65 consistently seek our services to help delay the ageing process, treat degenerative diseases, and reverse age-related disorders. However, a noteworthy shift we have witnessed is a growing trend in younger demographics, with those over 20 years of age proactively seeking ways to prevent the natural ageing process,” explained Karizza. She said that of this younger demographic, 60% were female and 40% male, adding that around 70% of these are from the Middle East, while the remainder came from the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.

This growing sector of medical tourism is one that Thailand is keen to promote. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has published a glossy 89-page brochure entitled ‘Beyond Healthcare: Trust Thailand, the Healthcare Capital of the World’. Though its figures are somewhat at odds with the IQVIA statistics (it says that more than four million people travelled to Thailand in 2019 for the “sole purpose of receiving affordable healthcare”), the publication covers everything from cancer care to medical cannabis, and also includes a comprehensive directory of medical service providers. The Ministry of Public Health is also promoting 10 areas of medical and wellness, which include a broad spectrum of treatments and procedures including regenerative and anti-ageing sciences, cardio science, musculoskeletal treatment, dental care, in vitro fertilisation (IVF), integrated cancer care, eye care, cosmetic surgery, precision medicine, and alternative medicine. While statistics may be variable, one thing is for certain: Thailand’s ambition to consolidate its position as a leader in medical travel is as strong as ever.