PHUKET International Hospital is about to enter its second phase of a more aggressive marketing campaign to attract Australians to the island for cosmetic surgery.
In what may be one of the few bright spots for Phuket tourism in the coming year, the hospital is expecting significant growth in its revenues from the Australian market alone.
Working with Australian specialist travel agent Destiny Meditravel, the hospital has created full travel and treatment packages that dozens of Australians have signed up for since the initial program was launched in early 2008.
Peter Davison, Manager International Services, and plastic surgeon Dr Rushapol Sdawat of the hospital's cosmetic surgery unit, Phuket International Aesthetic Centre, are set to travel to several cities in Australia in March to promote the hospital's services in seminars and mini-conferences.
Despite what Mr Davison describes as ''sensationalist'' reports in the Australian press about botched surgeries in Thailand, more Australians are coming to Phuket to have work done.
Not only are there significant cost savings to having surgery performed in Phuket, patients also get the opportunity to enjoy a two-week holiday on the resort island at the same time, Mr Davison says.
A breast augmentation package offered by the hospital costs AUS$5200, which includes the cost of the hospital treatment, 14 days in a hotel, airfare, transfers and breakfast .
Surgical costs alone for the same procedure in Australia are listed as AUS$10,450 on a Cosmetic Surgery Institute of Australia website.
After visiting Australia in January last year to softly introduce the hospital's new programs, Mr Davison says about 120 Australians used the service in 2008.
As well as promoting the hospital's services, Phuket as a destination and its resorts will also be introduced to potential clients on the Australian tour.
Clients will be able to select packages with a choice of a three, four or five-star hotel.
Mr Davison says that the three specific partner hotels about to be included in the program have all been inspected by the hospital.
''We check on their capacity to respond to client needs, and also check on their hygiene, food, cleanliness and services,'' he said.
''All the resorts want to do this because it's the low season and we're putting in a lot of rooms.
''Last year, we filled 1000 rooms, this year we expect a lot more because we're advertising, we have full-time surgeons and have developed the packages.''
He said he would be ''very unhappy'' if the hospital had fewer than 30 clients a month on these packages following their marketing trip to Australia.
So far, the only advertising done for this year's packages was one newsletter and press release sent out in January by the Australian agent Destiny Meditravel, and this has already generated 70 bookings.
Destiny Meditravel spokeswoman Melanie Bawden said: ''Since we launched the package promotions last year, the numbers we send have more than tripled, averaging 25 clients per month.
''We promoted though our web site which we promote a lot through ad words on Google initially. Then we commenced a marketing campaign with the newspapers in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Queensland, to which we had a fantastic response.
''[We] gained most of our new clients through these campaigns, which we will commence again early this year, starting in February.
''The clients that have taken part in this program have all been positive and have received a number of booking from their friends and family since their return based on word of mouth which is the best form of advertisements.
''We also have a number of those clients returning this year for other procedures, and bringing their friends with them for surgery.''
The company offers medical tourism packages only through PIH, and will continue to do so, said Ms Bawden, because they have confidence in the hospital's services.
Having Mr Davison, an Australian, there to assist clients has been reassuring for those unsure about whether to have treatment done in a foreign country, she says.
As well, anyone booking is checked in advance by both the agent and the hospital before travelling to Thailand.
This ensures those with unrealistic expectations, or conditions that would make surgery unsuitable, are screened out before boarding the airplane.
About 80 percent of the clients are women who come for ''mommy makeovers'', Dr Rushapol said.
The most common surgeries performed are breast augmentations or lifts, tummy tucks, face lifts, body contouring and nose jobs.
Among the men who come, most have liposuction or hair transplants.
Dr Rushapol is one of a team of plastic surgeons in the aesthetic centre that includes Dr Sanguan Kunaporn, who is renowned for male-to-female sex reassignment surgeries as well as cosmetic treatments.
Mr Davison scoffs at the notion that surgery in Thailand is unsafe or below standards, as some press reports in Australia and more recently, Singapore, have suggested.
''The Australian medical community is a little bit worried,'' he said. ''They're just looking out for their vested interests.
''If you look at the thousands and thousands of people who come to Thailand for medical procedures, 99 percent of them go away completely satisfied and without complications, but they focus on the one or two that have an issue.''
''They're scared,'' Mr Davison said. ''But with a bit of luck, they'll start to drive their prices down.''
Surgical procedures offered in the packages are completely healed by the time clients leave Phuket, he explained, and aftercare is not needed.
Even so, the hospital keeps in contact with all patients to check on their condition after they return home.
If complications arise, there is one doctor in Australia who can check, and on this trip in March the hospital is looking to sign more doctors to provide this service.
As well, Mr Davison says, the hospital will fly patients back to Phuket free of charge should there be any problems following the surgery. The hospital has set up a special fund for this purpose.
''We are serious about providing a quality, complete product,'' he said. ''We don't leave people high and dry.''
A study published in 2008 in the book Asian Medical Tourism Analysis projects that medical tourism in Asia will have an average yearly growth of 17.6 percent between 2007 and 2012.
In Thailand, nearly 1.3 million people visited in 2005 for medical procedures, generating 33 billion baht in revenue for the country's private hospitals. (Source: Kasikorn Research Centre)
At two major hospitals in Bangkok, Bumrungrad and Sanitivej, about 40 percent of patients are foreign nationals.
Ms Bawden says that medical tourism will continue to offer stronger growth potential than general tourism.
''Although the currency rate has been affected, it appears to have had little or no impact on our clients wishing to travel. Even with the currency increase, the cost remains well below what would be expected to be paid in Australia.
''And the surgeons there don't throw in a nice recovery location, either.''
Phuket International Hospital, on the Bypass Road in Phuket City, treats more than 100,000 patients a year. A new wing added in an extensive upgrade in 2007 houses the aesthetic centre and international lounge as well as a dental care centre, women's centre and children's centre. Tel: +66 (0) 76 249 400.
Andaman into Overdrive for Tourists in March
Latest A survey of Phuket resorts shows the first indications of March bookings as the Andaman region gears up for world's most important travel fair in Berlin.
Andaman into Overdrive for Tourists in March
Phuket Airport Figures Chart 2009 Island Decline
Latest Phuket passenger flight figures reflect the real scale of the island's downturn as calls come for realistic property prices and beach loungers come at a discount.
Phuket Airport Figures Chart 2009 Island Decline
In what may be one of the few bright spots for Phuket tourism in the coming year, the hospital is expecting significant growth in its revenues from the Australian market alone.
Working with Australian specialist travel agent Destiny Meditravel, the hospital has created full travel and treatment packages that dozens of Australians have signed up for since the initial program was launched in early 2008.
Peter Davison, Manager International Services, and plastic surgeon Dr Rushapol Sdawat of the hospital's cosmetic surgery unit, Phuket International Aesthetic Centre, are set to travel to several cities in Australia in March to promote the hospital's services in seminars and mini-conferences.
Despite what Mr Davison describes as ''sensationalist'' reports in the Australian press about botched surgeries in Thailand, more Australians are coming to Phuket to have work done.
Not only are there significant cost savings to having surgery performed in Phuket, patients also get the opportunity to enjoy a two-week holiday on the resort island at the same time, Mr Davison says.
A breast augmentation package offered by the hospital costs AUS$5200, which includes the cost of the hospital treatment, 14 days in a hotel, airfare, transfers and breakfast .
Surgical costs alone for the same procedure in Australia are listed as AUS$10,450 on a Cosmetic Surgery Institute of Australia website.
After visiting Australia in January last year to softly introduce the hospital's new programs, Mr Davison says about 120 Australians used the service in 2008.
As well as promoting the hospital's services, Phuket as a destination and its resorts will also be introduced to potential clients on the Australian tour.
Clients will be able to select packages with a choice of a three, four or five-star hotel.
Mr Davison says that the three specific partner hotels about to be included in the program have all been inspected by the hospital.
''We check on their capacity to respond to client needs, and also check on their hygiene, food, cleanliness and services,'' he said.
''All the resorts want to do this because it's the low season and we're putting in a lot of rooms.
''Last year, we filled 1000 rooms, this year we expect a lot more because we're advertising, we have full-time surgeons and have developed the packages.''
He said he would be ''very unhappy'' if the hospital had fewer than 30 clients a month on these packages following their marketing trip to Australia.
So far, the only advertising done for this year's packages was one newsletter and press release sent out in January by the Australian agent Destiny Meditravel, and this has already generated 70 bookings.
Destiny Meditravel spokeswoman Melanie Bawden said: ''Since we launched the package promotions last year, the numbers we send have more than tripled, averaging 25 clients per month.
''We promoted though our web site which we promote a lot through ad words on Google initially. Then we commenced a marketing campaign with the newspapers in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Queensland, to which we had a fantastic response.
''[We] gained most of our new clients through these campaigns, which we will commence again early this year, starting in February.
''The clients that have taken part in this program have all been positive and have received a number of booking from their friends and family since their return based on word of mouth which is the best form of advertisements.
''We also have a number of those clients returning this year for other procedures, and bringing their friends with them for surgery.''
The company offers medical tourism packages only through PIH, and will continue to do so, said Ms Bawden, because they have confidence in the hospital's services.
Having Mr Davison, an Australian, there to assist clients has been reassuring for those unsure about whether to have treatment done in a foreign country, she says.
As well, anyone booking is checked in advance by both the agent and the hospital before travelling to Thailand.
This ensures those with unrealistic expectations, or conditions that would make surgery unsuitable, are screened out before boarding the airplane.
About 80 percent of the clients are women who come for ''mommy makeovers'', Dr Rushapol said.
The most common surgeries performed are breast augmentations or lifts, tummy tucks, face lifts, body contouring and nose jobs.
Among the men who come, most have liposuction or hair transplants.
Dr Rushapol is one of a team of plastic surgeons in the aesthetic centre that includes Dr Sanguan Kunaporn, who is renowned for male-to-female sex reassignment surgeries as well as cosmetic treatments.
Mr Davison scoffs at the notion that surgery in Thailand is unsafe or below standards, as some press reports in Australia and more recently, Singapore, have suggested.
''The Australian medical community is a little bit worried,'' he said. ''They're just looking out for their vested interests.
''If you look at the thousands and thousands of people who come to Thailand for medical procedures, 99 percent of them go away completely satisfied and without complications, but they focus on the one or two that have an issue.''
''They're scared,'' Mr Davison said. ''But with a bit of luck, they'll start to drive their prices down.''
Surgical procedures offered in the packages are completely healed by the time clients leave Phuket, he explained, and aftercare is not needed.
Even so, the hospital keeps in contact with all patients to check on their condition after they return home.
If complications arise, there is one doctor in Australia who can check, and on this trip in March the hospital is looking to sign more doctors to provide this service.
As well, Mr Davison says, the hospital will fly patients back to Phuket free of charge should there be any problems following the surgery. The hospital has set up a special fund for this purpose.
''We are serious about providing a quality, complete product,'' he said. ''We don't leave people high and dry.''
A study published in 2008 in the book Asian Medical Tourism Analysis projects that medical tourism in Asia will have an average yearly growth of 17.6 percent between 2007 and 2012.
In Thailand, nearly 1.3 million people visited in 2005 for medical procedures, generating 33 billion baht in revenue for the country's private hospitals. (Source: Kasikorn Research Centre)
At two major hospitals in Bangkok, Bumrungrad and Sanitivej, about 40 percent of patients are foreign nationals.
Ms Bawden says that medical tourism will continue to offer stronger growth potential than general tourism.
''Although the currency rate has been affected, it appears to have had little or no impact on our clients wishing to travel. Even with the currency increase, the cost remains well below what would be expected to be paid in Australia.
''And the surgeons there don't throw in a nice recovery location, either.''
Phuket International Hospital, on the Bypass Road in Phuket City, treats more than 100,000 patients a year. A new wing added in an extensive upgrade in 2007 houses the aesthetic centre and international lounge as well as a dental care centre, women's centre and children's centre. Tel: +66 (0) 76 249 400.
Andaman into Overdrive for Tourists in March
Latest A survey of Phuket resorts shows the first indications of March bookings as the Andaman region gears up for world's most important travel fair in Berlin.
Andaman into Overdrive for Tourists in March
Phuket Airport Figures Chart 2009 Island Decline
Latest Phuket passenger flight figures reflect the real scale of the island's downturn as calls come for realistic property prices and beach loungers come at a discount.
Phuket Airport Figures Chart 2009 Island Decline
''If you look at the thousands and thousands of people who come to Thailand for medical procedures, 99 percent of them go away completely satisfied and without complications, but they focus on the one or two that have an issue.'' Does he mean the "one or two PERCENT that have an issue", which, when dealing with the "thousands and thousands of people who come to Thailand for medical procedures" could mean scores of patients each year with complications?
Peter Davison replies: "All surgery has risk and complications, ranging from serious to minor, irrespective of which country the surgery is completed in. The post operative complication rates here in Thailand's major private hospitals are comparable, if not better than those from hospitals in Australia. In the context of the comment, we are referring to the Australian surgeons who only provide negative comment on the cases that do have a complication and they seem intent on trying to scare patients away from selecting Thailand as an alternate destination for choosing a plastic surgery procedure. The Australian surgeons do not comment on the 99% who are totally satisfied with their surgery and outcome."
Posted by Juwanna Hari on February 10, 2009 11:41