Government to Establish Indonesia Health Tourism Board

On September 15, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, led the coordination meeting to form the Indonesian Health Tourism Board (IHTB). Minister Luhut said that the establishment of IHTB aims to develop health tourism in Indonesia by encouraging public trust in medical institutions and add value to the national economy. According to Minister Luhut, Indonesian public awareness of health problems showed a positive trend, indicated through spending in the health sector which reached 337 USD per capita in 2018, as well as an increase in Foreign Direct Investment in the health sector, with the highest investment coming from Singapore, Australia and China. On the other hand, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin, the working group coordinator, stated that the ministry is working on regulatory simplification on health tourism.

Furthermore, the Deputy for Tourism Products and Event Organizers of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Baparekraf), Rizki Handayani Mustafa, who was representing the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno, said that during the past two years, the ministry had been intensely discussing the opportunity of health tourism with the Ministry of Health. The development of Indonesian health tourism is divided into four significant scopes: medical tourism based on superior services, spa fitness and herbal tourism, traditional and herbal health services, sports tourism based on sports events, and MICE-based scientific tourism. Each of these scopes is contained in the National Action Plan 2021-2024 and will be the main focus in each year.

Source: https://maritim.go.id/kembangkan-wisata-medis-pemerintah-canangkan-pembentukan-indonesia-health/