AIRASIA INDONESIA & MHTC TO BOOST MEDICAL TOURISM

AirAsia Indonesia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) aimed at offering the best medical tourism service to Indonesian travelers.

The agreement will see both parties jointly promote Penang as Malaysia’s top healthcare tourism destination, with AirAsia as the preferred airline for direct connectivity. MHTC will offer services to arrange medical tourism trips including doctor and hospital appointments, as well as airport pick-up services, for those flying AirAsia from Indonesia to Penang for medical treatment.

AirAsia will provide exclusive flight discounts to MHTC customers, and AirAsia guests with prearranged appointments made through MHTC will also enjoy additional benefits at participating hospitals, including up to 20% discount on the medical check-up and non-medical bills, as well as in selected F&B outlets simply by showing their boarding pass.

The MoU was exchanged between MHTC CEO Sherene Azli and AirAsia Indonesia CEO Dendy Kurniawan at Aloft KL Sentral here today.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Malaysian Deputy Minister of Finance Dato’ Ir Haji Amiruddin Hamzah, Malaysian Deputy Minister of Health Dr Lee Boon Chye and AirAsia Group Berhad Executive Chairman and AirAsia X Co-Group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun.

Also present was Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM) President Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, AirAsia Indonesia CEO Dendy Kurniawan, said, “We are thrilled to be working together with MHTC to promote Penang, which is one of the best healthcare tourism destinations in the region. Penang is the destination of choice for Indonesians seeking top quality medical care, and we hope to see the market grow even more through this cooperation.”

Sherene shared this enthusiasm. “Penang receives around 60% of Malaysia’s healthcare travellers and in 2017 alone, the state’s healthcare travel industry generated half a billion ringgit in revenue. Among the medical fields that Penang is known for includes cardiology, orthopaedics, oncology, neurology, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), ophthalmology, and dentistry. Initiatives as such will only increase the potential of the state to cater to more healthcare travellers from Indonesia who have discovered Penang to be their preferred destination for healthcare.”

AirAsia Indonesia (carrier code QZ) currently serves Penang with twice daily flights from Jakarta, thrice daily flights from Medan and thrice weekly flights from Surabaya. AirAsia has been serving flights from Medan to Penang since March 2006, followed by the inaugural flight to Penang from Jakarta in March 2008 and from Surabaya in November 2010.