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As the government promotes the wellness and medical tourism segment, the private sector is calling for eased regulations and a focus on well-being to position Thailand as a top destination for these services.

Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, vice-president of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), said wellness and medical tourism aligns with the government’s goal of increasing tourism spending and persuading guests to stay longer.

In Phuket, some foreign tourists attend Muay Thai classes for months or weeks to lose weight, while other markets opt for personalised medicine and vitamin supplements with a doctor’s consultation.

Given the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s new theme of “Healing is the New Luxury”, he said the definition of wellness is evolving to cover mental healing, healthy eating as a medicine and relaxing at hot springs.

“Thailand should promote itself as a destination for transformation, where tourists can find meaningful new experiences and have healthy detoxes during vacations here,” said Mr Bhummikitti.

Artirat Charukitpipat, chief executive of Bumrungrad International Hospital, said Thailand has been a medical tourism destination for quite some time thanks to international standards for healthcare, specialised doctors and Thai hospitality that can draw foreign tourists.

Although Middle Eastern countries now have many international hospitals, some of their citizens still prefer to receive medical treatment in Thailand because of Thai hospitality and attractive tourism, she said.

Operators from Saudi Arabia and other Middle East nations even want Thai hospitals to open longevity or wellness clinics in their countries, said Mrs Artirat.

According to the Global Wellness Institute, the industry was worth US$6.3 trillion in 2023, of which wellness tourism accounted for $830 billion.

Between 2019 and 2023, the wellness sector with the highest growth was wellness real estate, which recorded 18.1% annual growth. This sector includes smart homes, wellness communities and health-focused development.

Second in terms of fastest annual growth was preventive and personalised medicine at 15.2%, while mental wellness was third at 11.6%.

New technologies are constantly emerging in this sector, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, intravenous drips, cryotherapy and wearable devices to track health metrics, said Mrs Artirat.

With the development of artificial intelligence, personalised nutrition and health plans for consumers via wearable smart devices is on the horizon, she said.

Thailand accounts for less than 1% of the global wellness market, indicating much room for further growth, said Mrs Artirat.

In the future, she said Bumrungrad expects hospitals will have a reduced workload in curing diseases as people become more aware of taking care of themselves, becoming ill more slowly as health prediction technology progresses.

At Bumrungrad, 67% of its revenue comes from foreign patients.

The conversion rate of international patients using medical treatment at the hospital combined with wellness treatment, such as vitamin drips, is high, said Mrs Artirat.

“Wellness treatment will become a magnet to draw patients in the future, eventually linking them to the medical sector,” she said.

INTEGRATED ECOSYSTEM

“To lead as a wellness tourism destination, Thailand needs a stronger ecosystem,” said Mr Bhummikitti.

He said Thailand still has high rates of non-communicable diseases and mental illness. The nation also has inconvenient regulations that hinder ease of doing business.

The TCT recommends a one-stop service to facilitate businesses, which can still guarantee health standards and safety.

Hotels and spa operators must now register with several authorities, which is inconvenient and indirectly leads to illegal openings, said Mr Bhummikitti.

Businesses that import new health technology or products also face complicated registration.

In terms of food, he said the government must promote balanced diets and reduce the impact on local health, such as imposing a higher tax on sugary drinks.

Authorities should also address the shortage of nurses and nursing assistants, promoting jobs in the healthcare system, said Mr Bhummikitti.

These efforts all funnel towards a preventive healthcare trend, he said.

Regarding healthcare education, Mrs Artirat said doctors are insufficiently trained in evolving wellness and preventive care technology.

Thailand also needs more caregivers, not only nurses, to meet the demand of an ageing society, as well as tourism and hospitality, she said.

Without an integrated plan, Thailand will lag behind Singapore, which has launched initiatives and developed city spaces that encourage locals to exercise and do physical activities, said Mrs Artirat.

Thai regulations need to quickly evolve to catch up with fast-developing healthcare technology, she said.

The pandemic served as a catalyst for tourism operators to re-evaluate their sustainability strategies and implement new initiatives aimed at preserving natural resources and attractions, many of which showed signs of recovery due to periods of reduced tourist activity.

According to the UN Tourism Organization, the circular economy model has emerged as a key approach for the tourism sector in its drive to minimise environmental impacts.

This model fosters a more inclusive supply chain and reshapes how operators extend the lifecycle of materials and products through better circular use.

In Thailand, tourism operators are embracing greener and more inclusive procurement practices to align with the growing trend of responsible travel.

Travellers are increasingly aware of the environmental and social impacts of the journeys they make, prompting businesses to adapt.

GREENER PROCUREMENT

According to a report by CE360 Alliance, the travel and tourism sector has an important role in the circular economy transition because it is linked with resources and assets in the supply chain, such as food, the built environment and transport.

For asset-heavy businesses such as hotels, the report advised using green procurement to enable circularity in the upstream supply chain by sourcing goods that are produced to be reused, remanufactured or recycled.

At the eighth edition of the Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism conference in September this year, more than 1,300 people gathered for discussions concerning sustainable development, including the importance of circularity and green procurement.

Peter Norman, a hotel procurement specialist at LINK Worldwide, said many tourism operators worldwide still purchase the cheapest products, not the most sustainable.

“A procurement person in a hotel chain, and even procurement agents and companies, aren’t empowered to procure correctly,” said Mr Norman.

He said it is crucial for hotel owners and top executives to have the knowledge and awareness to educate and instruct their employees to drive greener procurement and operations.

Saharat Jivavisitnont, an advisor to the Phuket Hotels Association, said circularity offers a sustainable framework for hotels to consider their procurement and operational planning, which involves stakeholders from upstream such as food suppliers, as well as downstream guests and the local community.

He said the key theme for green procurement at hotels is localisation, such as buying products directly from local producers without using a middleman or imports.

Some hotels purchase organic eggs directly from farmers in Phuket, while many restaurants offer mineral water produced domestically, which helps cut carbon emissions due to the shorter supply chain, and can support the local economy.

When a new hotel is developed, low-carbon and locally produced materials need to be procured for the building, including furniture and decorations, said Mr Saharat.

Hotels should also develop more green spaces on site to improve guest well-being, provide shade and absorb carbon, he said.

Finally, in terms of downstream, surplus food and outdated equipment can be donated to local communities, or recycled and repurposed to minimise waste.

Hotels should also ensure fair employment, offering a good workplace for staff members by providing a good environment as well as fair pay and benefits, said Mr Saharat.

LOCAL SUPPLIERS

The suppliers to hotels and tourism businesses include Phuket-based firms offering souvenirs, clothing and furniture, such as Yayee, which is best known for selling contemporary Peranakan fashion and batik garments.

Chief executive Phongpiwich Thuatraiphop, who also serves on the executive committee of the Phuket Tourist Association, said demand for sustainable local products among hotels and tourism operators benefits local brands such as Yayee.

The company has been operating for nine years after evolving from a souvenir shop selling craft products to foreign tourists in Phuket, which was established by Mr Phongpiwich’s late mother.

He said the brand utilises an environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework. The fashion industry often produces leftover textiles and releases microplastics into the environment, so Yayee aims to minimise this waste as much as possible, said Mr Phongpiwich.

Yayee also organised training of residents of vulnerable communities in Phuket, such as older workers and prisoners, providing them with useful sewing skills.

The company hired them to produce items for the brand using leftover textile materials, ensuring they receive fair pay as they are regarded as skilled workers, he said.

Moreover, Yayee also calculates carbon credit during its manufacturing processes.

Roughly 30-40% of its customers are in the business-to-business sector, selling uniforms, craft products and decorations to Phuket hotel operators. Most of these hotels are categorised as independent hotels.

One of the brand’s notable souvenirs is a scented bag featuring a turtle design crafted from scraps of fabric. Some hotels choose to give the scented bags to their guests as a gift, said Mr Phongpiwich.

“Our products are popular with hotel guests and other tourists not only because they are useful and of a high standard, but also they tell a story that highlights local culture and values,” he said.

Yayee previously collaborated with the Tourism Authority of Thailand for a fashion show featuring its contemporary batik garments.

Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun is one of the brand’s best-known clients.

ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES

Mr Norman said even though independent hotels are more passionate about adopting sustainability, many often lack relevant information about green suppliers and methods.

Big corporations have a responsibility to share this data and make it easily accessible to all stakeholders, he said.

Many companies adopt sustainable practices only when there is a clear financial benefit, such as eliminating single-use plastics or reducing the frequency of laundering towels and sheets to save on water usage, said Mr Norman.

However, significant gaps remain in other areas such as using locally sourced materials for construction, rather than allowing interior designers to specify timber sourced from rare foreign species of trees, he said.

In addition to all the timber used in hotels, linen is important for sustainability because it can be reused and recycled.

Linen can endure only 150 wash cycles, and is used in several areas of a hotel, such as for bedding. This linen can be repurposed into other products once it has reached the end of its life cycle, said Mr Norman.

Hotels are also renovating or replacing products more frequently than the traditional life cycle of 12-15 years in an effort to attract guests, which is not ideal for sustainability, he said.

PLATFORM NEEDED

Mr Saharat said there is no platform that serves as an intermediary to gather relevant information concerning local suppliers with green credentials in Phuket, which continues to pose a challenge for hotels, particularly independent operators.

Stakeholders and related industry associations only share information via seminars or by personal communication, he said.

However, Mr Saharat said he is optimistic more Thai hotels will engage in sustainability.

Banks and financial institutions are offering more loan products for green development, while the government offers tax incentives for operators to make their operations greener.

“Though investing in sustainable operations and procurement could cost 15-20% more, it is valuable to do so,” he said.

“The outcome not only appears as financial benefits, but also other social and environmental value that cannot be quantified.”

Phuket is encouraging its hotels to achieve at least one green certification, as the island is scheduled to host the Global Sustainable Tourism Council conference next year.

LAGOS – At least 50 of the more than 300 children snatched by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria have escaped their captors, a Christian group said on Sunday, as the president announced the rescue of 38 worshippers seized in a separate attack last week.

Gunmen on Friday raided St Mary’s co-education school in Niger state, taking 303 children and 12 teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria.

The abduction came days after gunmen stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state, taking 25 girls on Monday.

On Tuesday, gunmen raided a church in Kwara state in an attack that was recorded and broadcast online, showing the service being interrupted by gunfire, worshippers fleeing and screaming being heard outside.

Two people were killed in that attack, but the 38 worshippers who were abducted were later rescued by security forces, President Bola Tinubu said Sunday on his X account.

Separately, the Christian Association of Nigeria said in a statement that “we have received some good news as fifty (St Mary’s) pupils escaped and have reunited with their parents.”

The number of boys and girls — aged between eight and 18 years — kidnapped from St Mary’s is almost half of the school’s student population of over 600.

The Nigerian government has not commented on the number of children taken from the school, but Tinubu said in his X posting that “51 out of the missing” Catholic school students “have been recovered”.

“I will not relent,” he vowed “and under my watch, we will secure this nation and protect our people”.

Mounting security fears in Africa’s most populous nation have sparked a wave of school closures across some parts of the country.

Since Islamist militants kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls from Chibok town more than a decade ago, Nigeria has struggled with a spate of mass kidnappings, mostly carried out by criminal gangs looking for ransom payments.

Armed gangs often attack remote boarding schools where they know a lack of security presence will make for soft targets. Most victims are released after negotiations.

— ‘Deep sorrow’ —

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday made “a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages”.

He expressed his “deep sorrow, especially for the many young boys and girls kidnapped and for their anguished families,” at the end of the Angelus prayer.

The two abduction operations and the church attack came as US President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he called the persecution of Christians by radical Islamists in Nigeria.

When asked about the recent attacks and kidnappings on Fox News Radio, Trump said “what’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace”.

Nearly a week after their capture, two dozen school girls in neighbouring Kebbi state are still missing.

Security forces have identified locations where they are thought to be held, according to a security source. Only one of the 25 girls managed to escape early in the week.

Meanwhile, 13 women and girls aged between 16 and 23 were kidnapped in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state while walking home from their farms on Saturday, a local official told AFP.

One was later freed after she said she was married.

“They are all Muslim,” said Abubakar Mazhinyi, chairman of the Askira-Uba district, adding the area where they were taken from is 20 kilometres from Sambisa forest, a game reserve turned jihadist enclave in Borno state.

Beyond the kidnapping gangs, Nigeria is also dealing with a deadly Islamist insurgency in the northeast of the country, where the violence has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million since it erupted in 2019.

Aisha Yesufu, co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls group movement which led the campaign for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram 11 years ago, said kidnappings continues because “authorities are doing nothing” to curb the crisis.