The health and beauty sector and medical tourism have been two of the stars of recent years. But despite the rapid growth of both segments, the government still believes they have room for an even greater performance.

The Ministry of Commerce is expecting 20-30 percent export growth in the health and beauty sector next year, with foreign currency earnings at spas and from spa services a big contributor as growth in tourism feeds the export of products and services.

Thailand's famous spas, while of high quality, are not cheap even by world standards, and the sector is one of the keys to the Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) latest push for higher end tourists to the kingdom. TAT believes that the country's world-class spas and restaurants will help its integrated strategy to attract people from this high-end market.

Co-operation with the Ministry of Commerce, which is also promoting Thai health and spa services through Thailand's tourism campaigns, is a welcome sign of government departments working together for overall gains for the kingdom. The TAT, meanwhile, will promote spas through four- and five-star hotels and hospitals worldwide.

Health and beauty exports, including the money spent on spas by tourists, were worth 40 billion baht in the first nine months of this year alone – a 30 percent increase on the same period last year. The figure rises sharply when medical tourism is also taken into account. The Ministry of Commerce estimates that health services and the beauty sector will generate more than 100 billion baht in foreign-exchange income this year.

The health and beauty sector in Thailand has become a hub for Asia that continues to attract great interest. The recent Thailand Health and Beauty Show 2006 at the IMPACT Muang Thong Thani attracted more than 17,000 visitors.

The sector goes hand-in-hand with medical tourism, although some in the industry suggest more can be done for the two sectors to work together and build on their naturally complementary nature.

Thailand rapidly gained a name in the medical field as a destination with the highest professional standards of care but still with a low cost base and, of course, the famous Thai hospitality. The sector has also attracted interest from foreign health insurance companies and that has only widened the marketing possibilities.

Florida-based United Group Programs, which sells self-insurance policies to small businesses, for example, now offers a plan that sends patients to Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok. It says the plan will save US employers more than 50 percent on major medical costs and slash employees' out-of-pocket expenses to zero.

From virtually nothing in 1997, the sector has grown rapidly. Thai hospitals only really began promoting their services heavily after the financial crisis. Bumrungrad alone attracted more than 400,000 foreigners last year – 55,000 from the US – and nearly half the hospital's total patients.

Thailand has also been a beneficiary of a wave of Middle Eastern patients seeking affordable high-quality care. Numbers from the region have risen dramatically since 11 September 2001, with many Middle Easterners saying they feel more comfortable in Asia as the US tightens visa restrictions. The US healthcare industry estimates it is losing about US$500 million a year from the trend.

Middle Eastern patients visiting Bumrungrad have soared from 5,000 in 2000 to nearly 70,000 last year, and could approach 100,000 this year, most of them coming from the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar.

Thailand's biggest asset remains its reputation for professionalism and protection of patients.

"If there's a mistake, we fix it," says Curtis Schroeder, Group CEO of Bumrungrad International Hospital, which requires all doctors to carry malpractice insurance.