KOTA KINABALU: A plan is on the table to market Sabah as a destination for medical tourism with the proposed establishment of the Sabah Health and Wellness Tourism Council (SHWTC).

       The move is being promoted by the council’s pro-tem chairman, Dr Anil Kumar, who said he hopes to work with the Sabah Tourism Board (STB).

       At a recent meeting with Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, Dr Anil said SHWTC is intended to be a one-stop centre for medical tourism and related matters.

       He added that SHWTC will provide the drive and focus needed to place Sabah’s health and wellness tourism on the world stage.

       “We have the infrastructure and facilities. It will be a new market as far as tourism is concerned and will generate high revenue.

       “We want to collaborate with the Sabah Tourism Board on how we can effectively promote this area and attract people from neighbouring countries, particularly the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area,” he added.

       Dr Anil also invited Joniston, who chairs STB, to be SHWTC adviser.

       Joniston said STB will work closely with members of the local medical community to make Sabah a destination of choice for healthcare tourism.

       “Other states like Penang and Melaka already have their state healthcare tourism councils, so the move is timely. This is also in line with STB’s efforts to attract high-end travellers.

       “We’ve had success in other sectors of tourism such as rural tourism and there’s no reason why Sabah can’t do the same in medical tourism.

       “We must work closely together to achieve this goal, develop strategic plans to promote healthcare services here and look at prospective target markets, especially when Nusantara is set to become Indonesia’s new capital,” he added.

       STB chief executive officer Noredah Othman said it is already promoting the state’s medical tourism through the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council.

       “We will be happy to collaborate with SHTWC to conduct a workshop for tourism players to increase their awareness on medical tourism offerings in the state.”