Medical Tourism Drop Hits Core of Thailand's Bumrungrad Hospital

[Udon Map]

From: Bloomberg | Quint
By: Suttinee Yuvejwattana

(Bloomberg) -- Bumrungrad Hospital Pcl said the plunge in medical tourists traveling to Thailand amid the coronavirus pandemic has squeezed its business, as the majority of the health-care operator’s revenue typically comes from international patients.

"The COVID-19 crisis is a very tough test for all businesses," Chief Executive Officer Artirat Charukitpipat said in a written interview on Monday. "More than 50% of our patients used to come from overseas. They've now disappeared. The most important question is how we will get over this crisis. At Bumrungrad, agility runs in our blood. We have great staff, and they are ready to adjust."

The hospital helped pioneer Thailand's medical tourism industry about three decades ago. With its core patient base closed off, Bumrungrad has stepped up telemedicine as well as conducting at home blood tests, vacinations, anad drug deliveries, according to Artirat. The hospital operator, whose flagship is in Bangkok, also implemented new residence programs for those requiring quarantine or physical distancing, she said.

Thailand's borders are mostly closed as part of a state-of-emergency order imposed in March that lasts through May. Foreign tourists arrivals plunged 76% in March, with arrivals for the full year seen dropping by 42%, to 15 million, according to government figures.

In 2019, Bumrungrad treated “632,000 international medical episodes from over 180 countries,” with patients from Myanmar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait accounting for the biggest share by revenue, according to the hospital’s website. Two-thirds of revenue came from non-Thai patients.

Bumrungrad “is the most sensitive” of Thailand’s hospital operators under current circumstances because it has the highest proportion of foreign patients, said Suwat Wattanapornprom, an analyst at Asia Plus Securities Co. in Bangkok. “We recommend our clients switch to other stocks which focus on local markets.”

Among 26 brokerage ratings on Bumrungrad’s shares, three recommend buy, 16 hold and seven sell. Asia Plus is in the latter category, and forecasts a 28% revenue drop in 2020 from last year, assuming the pandemic will ease in the second half of this year, Suwat said in a phone interview.

Bumrungrad is currently the target of a pending takeover offer of about 85 billion baht ($2.6 billion) by Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Pcl, the largest hospital operator in Thailand, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bumrungrad said in a filing to the stock exchange on Feb. 27 that it was “surprised” by the bid.


Courtesy of Bloomberg | Quint
https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/ ... d-hospital

[mickojak]

Unfortunately, that is only a tiny percentage of all tourism money.
The future prospects are not looking good, and are not going to change quickly.

The world wide financial ramifications of Covid 19 and going to be of epic proportions, possibly never seen in history before.
The poorer countries, even like Thailand, where the majority can live off the farm, I believe, will actually be ok.
Mind you, tourism areas like Pataya and Phuket are going to be hit hard, real hard.

It's the western countries, where most people are indebted up to their eyeballs, and dependent on a weekly income to support that debt, that are going to be devastated.

The next couple of years are going to be extremely interesting to say the least.
Hang on for the ride.
It's gunna be wild.
The world is in for a massive shake-up.

[maaka]

tell my missus that will ya Mick...she wont stop harping on that I should be buying her a car for work..

[TJ]

"The world wide financial ramifications of Covid 19 and going to be of epic proportions, possibly never seen in history before."

And that financial/economic disaster is partly or largely be due to states' control of medical resources and denial of freedom to their people.

[mickojak]

tell my missus that will ya Mick...she wont stop harping on that I should be buying her a car for work..

Maaka,
I'm sure you're missus is like mine and most Thai's, in that they don't take much notice of world affairs, never had to, I suppose?
If you're cashed up and can ride this out, your life won't change much, it's the people who can't who are gunna struggle.
So, really, it's your own situation that dictates what you do.

But, generally, I don't think it's a time to stretch your budget?
Just my 2 cents worth.
Mick

[Drunk Monkey]

tell my missus that will ya Mick...she wont stop harping on that I should be buying her a NEW car for FACE and work..

Couple of small edits in your brief post maaka.. not generalizing

Its my experience when a Thai missus starts the ""i need a car for ??" routine they obviously mean a brand new vehicle not a cheap 15yr bashed up old runaround as in many cases the car isnt a real nessesary requirement but a show of face.. OMO as i had this twice in the past ..disclaimer not with Dao as she already had everything when we met and DM was just the cream on the cake ..... all be it out ov date and sour cream

Agree Mick not a time for big new purchases and commitments of any kind at the mo.

Ref topic header ..tourism in general will be fooked for at least a couple of years due to the pandemic and i think holidaymakers will stay closer to home destinations and short haul so that removes a lot of possible tourists from Europe Ozz and America the guys who spend the doe in the night life sector .. and precisely the reason the TAT are focusing so heavily on the Chinsese and Korean markets .. and prior to C19 the Indians .. places like Pattaya etc were in a bad place before C19 now they are totally screwed IMO

DM

[Drunk Monkey]

Latest tourism projections from TAT ..

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/cri ... wo-thirds/

Still a tad optimistic IMO.

[Niggly]

Yes, if they’ve already had 6.69m tourists this year, that means they are expecting a further 9m or so when the new normal kicks in which I also think is rather optimistic

[mickojak]

Still a tad optimistic IMO.

Yes, Jon,
I agree.
You're a businessman, and I'm sure you'll agree that most businesses need 50% or more turnover, just to break even.
Maybe even a lot more than that.
So, even, those predicted numbers aren't going to be profitable for most businesses.
Hundreds of thousands of apartments, pubs, shops, not able to make break even, for at least this whole year and maybe a long time after that.

Same in Australia, most businesses won't bother to open with limited customers, because they still won't make a profit.
Better just to stay shut and wear the rent until things clear up.
Why work all week for the same loss as staying at home.

Banks will only put up with no loan payments for so long.
I've got a friend living in Kamala, just over the hill from Pataong.
He says, there's nobody around.
Big C carpark empty all day etc.

Tourist towns will be ghost towns for some time to come

[Drunk Monkey]

Still a tad optimistic IMO.

Yes, Jon,
I agree.
You're a businessman, and I'm sure you'll agree that most businesses need 50% or more turnover, just to break even.
Maybe even a lot more than that.
So, even, those predicted numbers aren't going to be profitable for most businesses.
Hundreds of thousands of apartments, pubs, shops, not able to make break even, for at least this whole year and maybe a long time after that.

Same in Australia, most businesses won't bother to open with limited customers, because they still won't make a profit.
Better just to stay shut and wear the rent until things clear up.
Why work all week for the same loss as staying at home.

Banks will only put up with no loan payments for so long.
I've got a friend living in Kamala, just over the hill from Pataong.
He says, there's nobody around.
Big C carpark empty all day etc.

Tourist towns will be ghost towns for some time to come

Nobody ever goes into business to only break even .. i most certainly do not and would not .. even guys with a pot full and buy bars etc as a HOBBY dont do it to break even or "for the girlfriend" .. sheer folly to even think that .

Expect lots of cheap deals on condos/apartments , land and houses , businesses and home and business contents via the secondhand market let alone cars etc .

Advised by our accountant on the options we chose to moth ball , temporally close our business for April n May , zero sales , purchases , expenses and zero accountant /VAT bill .. even tho got orders dribbling in now June will be the first time i contemplate getting back to business from then see how it all goes ..i am anticipating having to make some changes to how and what we sell and operate.

Our great office unit landlord gave 3 months free rent and with the discounted leccy bills just leaves me enough for my Sivilai n Cheddar cheese fix ..free hobby traffic watching keeping my UM comrades informed , the dogs and a roll in the hay now n then keeps me content and occupied.

what more does a guy need

DM

[Drunk Monkey]

First muted last year the new tourist tax levy back on the table ..

Not the best time to introduce such a scheme ???? or exactly the right time then can be slipped in under the guise of C19 insurance cover

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism ... urist-levy

DM

[maaka]

I hear ya Mick and DM...Yes its all about face.. her teacher mates ask why her farang no buy you a car, but she took on a big role that needs transport and she has to ask all the time...I said I would buy her a 100,000bt auto Nissan NV as her first car, and bugger me days, this was to cheap for her..sorry I am off topic

[papafarang]

First muted last year the new tourist tax levy back on the table ..

Not the best time to introduce such a scheme ???? or exactly the right time then can be slipped in under the guise of C19 insurance cover

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism ... urist-levy

DM

And who is going to travel to a country where you need compulsory covid insurance ? And then return to England to go in to 14 days isolation ? Seems a week in an overpriced caravan in Skegness would be a lot less hassle

[Drunk Monkey]

I hear ya Mick and DM...Yes its all about face.. her teacher mates ask why her farang no buy you a car, but she took on a big role that needs transport and she has to ask all the time...I said I would buy her a 100,000bt auto Nissan NV as her first car, and bugger me days, this was to cheap for her..sorry I am off topic

Im pleased you took my post in the right way maaka ... regardless why / if a vehicle is really needed the fact a nice tidy reliable 100k runabout would not suffice confirms my past experiences of being dragged into a dealerships to look at only new.. the trick also was to start looking at the smaller low economy models but try to scale up to the next level and beyond.....example Vios J to G then to Altis n even Fortuna ..

Being all heart i did cave in on one occasion and got my lass at the time a Honda Wave to go to work .. my nooky was stopped and my testicular bruising took almost a month to heal.

Back on topic .. the new normal

Buy silcone titties n get a new nose FREE ..

DM

[Udon Map]

Not the best time to introduce such a scheme ???? or exactly the right time then can be slipped in under the guise of C19 insurance cover

And who is going to travel to a country where you need compulsory covid insurance?

If that's the plan, then presumably once there's a vaccine, the COVID-19 insurance will no longer be necessary and the tourist tax will be rescinded. Right??

[Drunk Monkey]

Who knows Paul ???

I recall a time in my earlt days of coming to Thailand on hols you had to pay at the airport to leave .. 500 bt .. not sure maybe some other members can confirm my aging memory games .

DM

[Niggly]

Yup, 500 baht to leave in the good old days of Don Mueang

[samster]

Still a tad optimistic IMO.

Yes, Jon,
I agree.
You're a businessman, and I'm sure you'll agree that most businesses need 50% or more turnover, just to break even.
Maybe even a lot more than that.
So, even, those predicted numbers aren't going to be profitable for most businesses.
Hundreds of thousands of apartments, pubs, shops, not able to make break even, for at least this whole year and maybe a long time after that.

Same in Australia, most businesses won't bother to open with limited customers, because they still won't make a profit.
Better just to stay shut and wear the rent until things clear up.
Why work all week for the same loss as staying at home.

I had a conversation this weekend with a guy who owns a chain of bars around the North of England.

He said, with new distancing rules, when they reopen, they can only allow 30% capacity in their bars. I asked what was the percentage to break even. The answer was 70%.

[JimboPSM]

The international departure tax which most of us remember as 500 Baht was actually increased by 200 Baht to 700 Baht on 1st February 2007 (about four months after Swampy opened).

However the new cost was never readily visible because, for air tickets departing Thailand on or after 1st February 2007, the departure tax was included in the ticket price.

There were reports late in 2013 of a proposal to increase the departure tax, but during the ensuing period of discussions it became sidelined by events in May 2014 (I'm not aware of any other proposals since then).

.

[papafarang]

Not the best time to introduce such a scheme ???? or exactly the right time then can be slipped in under the guise of C19 insurance cover

And who is going to travel to a country where you need compulsory covid insurance?

If that's the plan, then presumably once there's a vaccine, the COVID-19 insurance will no longer be necessary and the tourist tax will be rescinded. Right??

Anyone fancy a holiday to any infected country ? Long weekend in New York city ? The fact is no one will go to any country that is still infected ,and countries that do get it under control won't be letting anyone in from infected countries . The fact that you will be told you NEED covid insurance when visiting will be enough to put you off going there ., I can't see an issue with the 300b ,but linking it with the possibility that you might catch covid here is not exactly a great marketing point .come to Thailand and if you catch covid we will treat you ,and if you die we won't bill you. Maybe a new TAT strategy ? The other point is would you go to any country knowing millions of people with are entering with the knowledge that some infected will be traveling on your plane to a. Airport with possibly thousands of infected pass through every day. I can't see that working , Wuhan apparently is a great place to visit ,any takers ?