Malaysian medical tourism set to benefit from Iran war’s impact

2026.03.18 10:20 A FlyDubai aircraft prepares for landing as smoke rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport on Monday. Photo: TNS Malaysia’s medical tourism sector could receive a boost amid the widening conflict in the Middle East as potential patients look for safer alternatives in Asia, according to a private healthcare company. Dubai, the main medical hub in the region, has been under Iranian missile and drone retaliatory attacks since the US and Israel began air strikes on the Islamic Republic on February 28. This could prompt Middle Easterners who are seeking medical treatment to travel to Southeast Asian countries with a reputation for good and affordable healthcare, such as Malaysia, said Lau Beng Long, president of Sunway Healthcare, as cited by The Edge Malaysia. “There may be situations where Middle Easterners may have to come over to Asia, Southeast Asia in particular, for some kind of temporary stay until things are more settled back home,” Lau said at a press conference on Wednesday. Malaysia’s medical tourism revenue would gain significantly if this were to happen. In 2023, Dubai welcomed about 691,000 medical tourists, who spent over 1.03 billion dirhams (US$280 million), Market Data Forecast reported in September last year. Currently, most of Sunway’s medical tourists come from China, India and other regional countries, according to chief financial officer Chelsea Cheng. A hospital room at the Bagan Specialist Centre in Penang, Malaysia. Photo: Randy Mulyanto As such, the US-Israel war on Iran was not expected to have an impact on the company, she said, as reported by Bernama news agency. “We don’t really depend a lot on European tourists at the moment for our healthcare sector, so at this moment I believe we are pretty much shielded, and we are confident with our medical tourism outlook for the year,” Cheng said. Medical tourism in Malaysia has shown a healthy post-pandemic recovery. Last year, hospital revenue from medical touri

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