Abdul Razak (third from left) and senior state government officials welcoming the passengers at LTAM.
MELAKA: Melaka is seeking to boost its medical tourism industry by promoting the state as a preferred healthcare destination in more countries.
State tourism, heritage, arts and culture committee chairman Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman said Melaka is looking beyond Indonesia to promote the state's excellent healthcare services.
"We recently had promotion drives at Dubai and the Philippines and we will continue to bring along representatives from private hospitals here to join our series of roadshows abroad," he said after the welcoming ceremony of the inaugural Wings Air flight from Pekan Baru, Indonesia at Melaka International Airport (LTAM) at Batu Berendam here on Monday (May 15).
The event was also witnessed by Melaka road works, infrastructure, public amenity and transportation committee chairman Datuk Hameed Mytheen Kunju Basheer.
Abdul Razak said 85% of passengers who arrived here in the first direct flight operated by Wings Air are those seeking medical care at private hospitals here.
He said the state government is also hoping to foster strategic collaboration with more industry leaders with an aim to provide quality healthcare services to international patients and boost the tourism sector.
"Hence, we welcome more private hospitals to set up their operations here in a bid to create a more diverse and resilient medical tourism industry," he said, adding that the state targets 8.4 million tourists for this year.
Abdul Razak said that discussions are also underway to attract more airlines to operate from LTAM.
Meanwhile, Hameed Mytheen said Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad will review the aspects of lengthening the existing LTAM's runway and additional funding for the project to enable various aircraft to land.
