South Korea’s medical tourism industry has benefited from the revisions done in the law to allow hospitals to market its services to foreign patients.

In May 2009, the number of foreign patients that visited South Korea jumped to 1,062. This accounts for a 40% increase in visitors in that month alone compared to the number of foreign patients that visited the country in 2008 for the same month.

Manny Pacquiao, considered as today’s best pound-for-pound boxer in the whole world, is planning to develop a tourism economic zone in General Santos City, his native province in the Philippines. The planned mixed-use ecozone is designed to encourage tourism and economic activity in General Santos.  The plan for the economic zone was presented by the representatives of the Manny Pacquiao Heights Development Corporation to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) last May.

The Malacca airport in Malaysia recently underwent renovations. The upgrades are expected to result in the attraction of more health tourists to the country. The airport, located in Batu Berendam, is expected to receive around 500,000 travelers in the next three years.