KUALA LUMPUR, 25 January 2020 – The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) has recently announced that it expected more than 350 entries from journalists globally who have reported positively on the potential of the Malaysian medical travel industry through their media reports and features to participate in the Medical Travel Media Awards 2020 (MTMA2020). This award event that recognises and rewards excellence in journalism for both local and international media garnered more than 250 submissions from over 10 countries last year.
MTMA is the first global media award which honours the journalists’ contributions specifically in the medical travel industry which have made a major impact in terms of revenues and number of healthcare travellers. Malaysia has ranked in the Top 10 of the global medical travel destinations for many years which led the country to become the hub for cardiology, IVF, oncology, plastic surgery and many more.
“Healthcare travel is one of the fastest-growing industries in Malaysia. Our country has an extensive history in healthcare travel excellence that lends to high-quality offerings. This is only made possible with the continuous support from members of the media who have played a pivotal role in carving Malaysia Healthcare on a global scale. MTMA2020 continues our support for the media and more importantly, holds in great respect, the best work in healthcare travel journalism”.
This national initiative is further driven with the support of Asia’s leading digital public relations platform, Supernewsroom which opens access for MHTC to connect with more than 25,000 journalists and editors in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Throughout 2018, the local healthcare travel industry flourished and attained RM1.5 billion in revenue. While in 2019, MHTC recorded 1.3 million healthcare travellers that brought in an estimated of RM1.7 billion worth of revenue. This year, Malaysia expects to see a jump in the number of healthcare travellers which will contribute to an estimated revenue of RM2 billion.
“This year as we celebrate the Malaysia Year of Healthcare Travel 2020 campaign (MyHT2020), we would like to invite healthcare travellers to experience Malaysia’s first international healthcare travel campaign. This campaign aims to invite everyone to seek healthcare and wellness treatments in Malaysia while exploring our country’s tourism attractions. With the MyHT2020 campaign going in full gear, we anticipate more submissions this year as we see Malaysia transforming from a hidden jewel to the World’s Healthcare Marvel,” said Chief Executive Officer of MHTC, Sherene Azli.
In its second installation, MTMA2020 will be held on 18 August 2020 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This year, MTMA2020 has upped the game with the introduction of more award categories. This year, to encourage more international participation, MHTC has introduced five awards for international media on top of separate categories for Malaysian media. All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of local and international media experts as judges.
Malaysia, the World’s Healthcare Marvel
Malaysia is the number one healthcare travel destination by volume according to The Global Market Report 2018 produced by LaingBuisson. Gaining further recognition, Malaysia has been internationally recognised as the “Best Country in the World for Healthcare” from 2015 to 2019 by US-based International Living and “Destination of the Year” for healthcare travel by UK-based International Medical Travel Journal from 2015 to 2017 based on these criteria: quality, accessibility and affordability.
With MyHT2020 headlining the year in tandem with Visit Malaysia 2020, MTMA2020 is expected to garner more entry submissions from media organisations all around the world, furthering Malaysia Healthcare’s global awareness.
For more information on the MTMA2020, please visit https://www.mhtc.org.my/mtma/ or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/
MTMA2020 welcomes entry submissions from both local and international media organisations at https://www.mhtc.org.my/mtma/e
