SUBANG JAYA, June 6 — Selangor is repositioning its medical tourism industry beyond conventional treatment by capitalising on demand for fertility services, healthy ageing programmes, and preventive healthcare, as the state seeks to strengthen its position as a regional healthcare hub.
Tourism Selangor chief executive officer Chua Yee Ling said the state has been developing a more integrated medical tourism ecosystem since the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging its concentration of private hospitals, strong connectivity, and expanding healthcare specialisations.
She noted that apart from having 46 private medical centres, the highest in the country, Selangor also benefits from its strategic location supported by proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport.
“This makes it easier for us to offer end-to-end medical tourism services to international patients,” she said in a recent interview with Media Selangor.
While medical checkup packages remain the largest contributor to medical tourism demand, Chua said fertility treatment, especially in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments.
“For fertility treatments like IVF, patients may need several visits. They (will) come for three or four days, and have to return again another month. (The process) can take from three to six months, or even up to one year,” she explained, referencing the long-term nature of the treatment and its potential contribution to the state’s tourism sector.
She said IVF packages have gained traction not only among international patients but also domestically, with several hospitals in Selangor promoting fertility treatments.
According to her, among the major providers are Alpha IVF Group, Sunway Medical Centre, and Avisena Women’s & Children’s Specialist Hospital.
Chua said fertility treatments have been made more popular by Malaysian singer Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, who previously collaborated with Alpha IVF.
Rise of wellness tourism
Chua said Selangor offers a wide range of care in other medical specialties including cardiology and orthopaedics, while also targeting senior citizens through wellness-focused packages that combine leisure travel with preventive healthcare.
She said hospitals are offering packages tailored for elderly patients requiring cataract procedures, orthopaedic treatments, and routine health monitoring.
“We are encouraging active ageing, where individuals (are encouraged) care for their health and (monitor their) medical reports to ensure they (are well). This applies to both domestic and international patients,” she added.
Chua also said the state is seeing growing interest in wellness and elderly care concepts driven by the ageing population, including post-hospital recovery centres and assisted living facilities.
She pointed to developments such as the Sunway Sanctuary, which caters to senior citizens requiring short-term assisted recovery and rehabilitation after discharge from the hospital.
“I think that will be the future trend, because for many working adults and couples, when (their) parents grow older and need care and attention, these kinds of sanctuary centres can help,” she said.
Preventive healthcare is becoming a major focus of Selangor’s medical tourism strategy as authorities and healthcare providers aim to shift public perception away from seeking treatment only after falling ill, she added.
“The campaign is not only about looking for a doctor when you are sick. The whole healthcare and wellness campaign is to make (health maintenance) a regular thing.”
Chua said regular screenings and medical checkups are being increasingly marketed as part of wellness tourism packages, especially for senior travellers.
Meanwhile, she said Malaysia’s relatively affordable healthcare, combined with strong medical expertise and patient trust, continue to give the country an advantage over regional competitors.
She added that digitalisation and advanced healthcare technologies are also strengthening Selangor’s competitiveness, with more hospitals adopting robotic surgery, teleconsultation, and AI-assisted healthcare.
Of the 8.42 million travellers recorded during Visit Selangor Year 2025, an estimated 336,000 visitors were in the medical tourism segment.
Indonesia remains Selangor’s largest source market for medical tourism, followed by China, Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar.
