BDMS Wellness Clinic, a subsidiary of Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Plc, has launched a second branch at its Celes Samui resort to capitalise on the growth of wellness tourism, which is expanding by more than 20% per year.
Dr Tanupol Virunhagarun, chief executive of BDMS Wellness Clinic and BDMS Wellness Resort, said wellness tourism had gained more interest from tourists around the world, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic raised an alarm over health consciousness. Many people are afraid of death, so they became more interested in preventive medicines," he said.
According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), global wellness tourism is expected to grow by 20.9% this year, reaching a market value of US$1 trillion by 2024.
This growth prediction was revised up from an 8.1% forecast issued before the pandemic, higher than that of overall wellness business, which stood at 6.4%.
However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, wellness tourism business around the world declined to $435 billion in 2020, according to GWI.
GWI also ranked Thailand as the world's second-biggest wellness destination in 2020, while Visa Global Travel Intentions Study this year ranked Thailand as the world's fourth most attractive country to visit.
This year Samui was also ranked the world's fourth-best island to visit by travel magazine DestinAsian, and Southeast Asia's second-best island by travel magazine Travel+Leisure.
In 2019, 2.5 million travellers visited Samui.
"We saw an opportunity to expand the wellness clinic on Samui as our Bangkok Hospital on Samui had many foreign tourists visiting to get a vitamin drip," said Dr Tanupol.
"Spending per head of wellness tourists is around 50,000-60,000 baht, 50% more than general visitors."
Last Thursday, BDMS Wellness Clinic opened BDMS Wellness Clinic Retreat at Celes Samui, a beachfront resort owned by the Prasarttong-Osoth family, the major shareholder in BDMS.
Ariya Prasarttong-Osoth, president of Celes Samui, said the hotel had an IV drip room, certified by the Public Health Ministry, to provide treatment for both hotel guests and walk-in customers.
The starting package is priced at 33,900 baht for two days and one night at the BDMS wellness anti-ageing retreat.
The programme, which is tailored for each person, starts with a medical consultation with a doctor through telemedicine and an on-site meeting.
Medical services comprise: a preventive checkup; vitamins, minerals, hormones and antioxidants tests; telomere length tests to establish biological age; a genetic test; natural killer (NK) cell activity tests; IV vitamin drip and personalised exercise programmes; mental wellness; and sleep wellness.
"We are introducing the programme to Thais as they become more conscious about healthcare, even younger people," Mrs Ariya said. "The programme at the resort will likely match with those who don't want to go to the hospital."
