Thohir drew attention to the positive response from Japanese company Mitsui Healthcare that had invested in international hospitals in Southeast Asia, including in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore.
"We have 49 hectares of land in Bali, and we want to upgrade this into a tourism facility. We have received a positive response from Japanese firm Mitsui Healthcare that has its stake in several hospitals in Southeast Asia," Thohir remarked during a national coordination meeting on the development of five super-priority tourist destinations here on Friday.
Thohir noted that the plan to build the world-class hospital in Bali will not use foreign brands. "I have told Mitsui, I did not want to use the Singapore or Malaysia brand. We want to use our own name, but still world class," the minister remarked.
The development of medical tourism in Bali is expected to encourage Indonesians, who earlier had healthcare abroad, to shift their spending to domestic hospitals, he stated.
"We want to explore this, the new potential in Bali. We will try this. We can develop health tourism at several locations, but we will try it in Bali first," Thohir noted.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan earlier stated that the government had promoted the development of health facilities and health tourism in the country by opening international hospitals.
Indonesia has been among the principal contributors to medical tourism in its neighboring nations. According to the CIMB ASEAN Research Institute, Indonesians spent around US$11.5 billion annually on healthcare abroad, mostly in Malaysia.
Indonesia’s Southeast Asian neighbors, including Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, have already developed medical tourism in their respective countries.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Ade Irma Junida, Sri Haryati
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
