Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew announced that the state is looking forward to get into the medical tourism sector. In order to take it forward, they will be signing an agreement with a London-based firm in the near future.

During the ‘World Travel Mart’ event held in London earlier this month, Liew said she has met with the firm which is a global specialist company in medical tourism. Liew said Sabah had a lot to catch up as other states in Peninsular Malaysia has gained a reputation for their medical tourism.

“They had visited Sabah six months ago and did a market survey. They are very keen on Sabah,” she said.

She added “I had a look at the numbers and it is impressive. It’s a multi-million ringgit industry and I think Sabah would excel in this. We have a number of private hospitals with qualified cosmetic surgeons. We have many resorts and hotels where patients stay and recover. Sabah doesn’t just have good medical facilities but also beautiful tourism spots,”.

She also said that Sabah had actively promoted tourism abroad and in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2020, it is expected to have an additional one million tourists next year.