Malaysia’s Sarawak state is expanding its position as a regional medical tourism hub, with new private hospitals in Kuching, improved air links and a growing network of long-stay accommodation positioning the state to draw more patients from across Borneo and beyond.
Deputy minister of tourism, creative industry and performing arts Datuk Sebastian Ting outlined the sector’s momentum in Miri on July 23, opening the Symposium on Wound and Stoma Care. He cited Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council figures showing Sarawak welcomed more than 104,000 medical travellers in 2025, a 26.16% increase on the previous year, with Indonesia remaining the state’s largest source market. The figure marks a sharp rise from 76,796 medical visitors in 2024 and 64,393 in 2023.
“This encouraging growth reflects increasing regional confidence in Sarawak’s healthcare professionals, medical facilities, and wider healthcare ecosystem,” Ting said, according to Borneo Post.
Air connectivity sits at the centre of the strategy. State-owned carrier AirBorneo has begun jet operations linking Kuching with Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, with firm orders in place for additional aircraft. Sarawak premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has said the airline’s planned expansion could eventually bring patients from as far as South Korea, Japan and India, all within a five-hour flight radius, as part of a wider strategy to position Sarawak as a preferred long-stay destination, supported by the state’s new Autonomous Rapid Transit system.
While Kuching remains Sarawak’s primary medical tourism hub, home to five hospitals with three more in development, including IHH Gleneagles Kuching, a new specialist hospital at The NorthBank and an expansion that will double the size of Borneo Medical Centre, Miri is being positioned as a healthcare gateway for northern Sarawak and Brunei, given its proximity to the Bruneian border. At Kuching’s private hospitals, 40 to 50% of patients are already non-Sarawakians, according to healthcare executives cited by Borneo Post, a trend officials say reflects growing regional trust in the state’s clinical standards.
Cost and climate are also part of Sarawak’s pitch. With a currency valued lower than Singapore’s or Brunei’s, the state can offer high standards of care at comparatively competitive prices, while its warm equatorial climate is promoted as beneficial for post-operative recovery. Officials have also pointed to Sarawak’s low crime rate as a further draw for patients and their families.
Ting said the value of medical tourism extends well beyond the patients themselves, since accompanying family members who remain in Sarawak throughout consultation, treatment and recovery lend further support to accommodation, transport, food and retail businesses. State authorities have developed post-treatment recuperation offerings in Damai and Telok Melano, framed as spaces for “healing in paradise,” alongside long-stay accommodation such as the newly opened Wisma Elica, intended to give patients and their families a comfortable base during recovery.
Abang Johari, speaking after the groundbreaking ceremony for Gleneagles Hospital Kuching, said Sarawak’s ambitions extend beyond its immediate neighbours. “People may come here for treatment not only from Kalimantan but also from Thailand, Cambodia, and maybe even Hong Kong,” he said, adding that AirBorneo’s development was central to reaching that wider market.
The push in Sarawak mirrors momentum at the national level. Malaysia welcomed around 1.84mn international healthcare travellers in 2025, following growth of 21% in 2024 that generated MYR2.72bn ($600mn) in hospital revenue, according to Travel And Tour World. The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council has set a target of MYR7bn ($1.63bn) in medical tourism revenue by 2030, positioning healthcare travel as a core pillar of the country’s tourism strategy alongside leisure visits, and placing Sarawak among a small group of states, including Penang, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur, competing for a growing share of the region’s medical travellers.