GEORGE TOWN, Sept 30 — Penang received about 285,400 medical tourists and generated RM601.8 million in medical tourism revenue in the first six months of this year, state tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said today.

Citing Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) data, he said the figures demonstrated the sector’s significant scale and Penang’s continued importance to Malaysia’s medical tourism industry.

He said Penang received about 520,000 medical tourists and generated RM1.14 billion in revenue last year.

“Whether measured by the number of medical tourists or their economic contribution, Penang accounts for more than one-third of Malaysia’s medical tourism industry and remains the country’s leading destination,” Wong said in a statement released today.

He noted that the figures only covered hospitals and excluded dental clinics, clinical laboratories, diagnostic centres, pharmacies and other healthcare service providers.

"Therefore, when the medical tourism ecosystem is viewed in its entirety, the actual number of medical tourists served by Penang and the economic activities generated are likely to be even more significant,” he said.

Wong recently met MHTC representatives in Kuala Lumpur to review Penang’s performance and discuss strategies, resource coordination and joint promotions for the final quarter of Malaysia Year of Medical Tourism 2026.

He said his discussions with MHTC looked at ways to better align federal and state promotional resources and channel national initiatives into Penang’s medical tourism ecosystem.

He said Penang was well placed to capitalise on Malaysia’s recent ranking as the world’s sixth-best medical tourism destination for 2026 by Travel And Tour World.

“While price is certainly one of Penang’s attractions for medical tourists, it is by no means our only advantage," he said.

He said Penang’s medical tourism industry had several core strengths, including multiple internationally accredited healthcare institutions, modern medical facilities and equipment, competitively priced and high-quality healthcare services, as well as multilingual capabilities and a conducive communication environment.

He also said Indonesia remained Penang's largest source market for medical tourism, with the state currently having direct flight connections from major Indonesian cities including Jakarta, Surabaya, Banda Aceh and Medan.

"A new direct flight route between Batam and Penang is set to commence on October 18," he said.

"The continued expansion of these air links reflects Penang’s efforts to strengthen its aviation network, enhance connectivity between Penang and major cities in Indonesia, and further consolidate and expand the Indonesian medical tourism market,” Wong added.

He said Penang and Malaysia were facing increasingly intense regional competition from neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Pakistan, which had also begun actively developing their medical tourism industries in recent years.

"Penang must therefore remain forward-looking and plan ahead," he said.

He said Malaysia had the advantage of multilingual communication, which formed an important foundation for Penang to diversify its international source markets.

"Therefore, Penang will not be content with relying solely on the Indonesian market, but will continue to pursue excellence by consolidating traditional source markets while identifying and developing a more diverse range of potential international markets," he said.

Wong said Penang was now exploring other international source markets such as the Arab region, as some Arab medical tourists were choosing Thailand as a medical tourism destination.

"We should therefore study the market’s needs more closely and actively seek to attract this potential group of medical tourists,” he said.

Another potential market Penang is eyeing is Australia, as Australian travellers already find Penang’s beaches, food, heritage sites and rich cultural heritage highly attractive.

"While Australia has a well-developed healthcare system, certain medical services may involve longer waiting times and higher costs," he said.

"By comparison, Malaysia’s favourable exchange rate enables us to offer competitively priced, high-quality healthcare services," he added.

He said Penang could also provide a one-stop healthcare experience, including health screening packages that allow medical tourists to undergo multiple examinations at one healthcare institution and obtain their results within a short period of time, even on the same day.

“For international medical tourists, time and service convenience are just as important as price when making their decisions,” Wong said.