Arab Times Kuwait 26th Jan 2004
Web Edition No: 11783

Beautiful Holidays; Medical tourism to Malaysia grows

PENANG, Malaysia (AFP); A young Dutchwoman has beaten Malaysia's savvy businessmen to a lucrative new business sending European clients home from hideaway holidays with bigger breasts or a facelift. Price and privacy are the big drawing cards, says Marloes Giezenaar, a 26-year-old MBA who has reshaped 65 clients since setting up "Beautiful-Holidays" on Penang Island off Malaysia's north-west coast some 18 months ago. For around the same cost as cosmetic surgery in their home countries her clients get the surgery plus the chance to recuperate during a two-week holiday in a four-star hotel far form the prying eyes of acquaintances.

The most popular treatments, in order, are breasts augmentation, Iiposuction, tummy tucks, facelifts and nose jobs, Giezenaar told AFP in a recent interview. "In Britian a breast augmentation with implants is between £3,000 and £5,000
($5,400 to $9,000), depending on what kind of clinic you go to. "With us, including the flight from Britain, two weeks in a four star hotel, plus the surgery, all the transport, all our advice, it comes to about £3,000 -£3,200," Giezenaar said. The idea for "Beautiful Holidays" came to the curvaceous six-foot blonde - who has had her lips plumped but no other cosmetic work - when she completed her MBA in Singapore, Where her father was NEC computers managing director and vice-president for Asia-Pacific.

"I have a lot of friends in Europe who had cosmetic surgery and I always thought the recovery was very slow - weeks of sitting at home, but they still had to go to the supermarket and do domestic chores while they were healing. " When I came to Asia I found that many wives of expats had things done here because it was so cheap and the results were practically the same as in Europe. They also recovered a lot of faster because they all had maids so could sit around doing nothings." So when I got my MBA, it was - am I going to work for one of the big consultancies or one of the big corporate and work 70 hours a week for somebody else's money and somebody else's profit or am I going to try my own thing. "

With investment form a venture capitalist in Holland she first set up a "new media" company, Bridgethree Sdn Bhd, designing websites and doing other IT work in Penang's high-tech tradition. When that was up and running, she began "Beautiful Holidays", and says that while Bridgethree has a bigger turnover, the cosmetic holidays are more profitable. "I was very cocky when I came from my MBA, thinking I would break even in two years, but it takes three - although Beautiful Holidays will do it sooner than that as there is not a lot of overheads. " Giezenaar works with a Malaysian plastic and cosmetic surgeon who practiced for several years in Britain. She does the marketing - mainly through her website, word of mouth and brochures at European beauty salons and gyms - arranges the consultations, flights and accommodation.

"It has been a big success," she says, adding that she has no competition in Malaysia. Several Asian countries, including Singapore and Thailand are targeting "medical tourism" as a growth area, and Giezenaar is co-chairman of the Health Tourism Promotion Taskforce of the Penang Tourism Council. "Malaysia's got big potential for medical tourism. The hospitals are very good, spoken English is better than in Thailand and lot of Malaysian doctors trained in the UK, US and Australia. "

Giezenaar says she avoids Thailand’s more extreme surgery, such as sex-change operations “and people who come along and say ‘ Make me look like Demo Moore’.” ”The people I get don’t usually go for humungous Pamela Anderson boobs. They are professionals or housewives with children, so they just want fuller, firmer breasts and they go one or two cup sizes up. “We’ve had clients who didn’t tell their husbands or boyfriends – just said they were going on holiday – and presented a surprise when they came home. “ Others bring their husbands along for the golf. Giezenaar says although Europe is her main market, she is receiving an increasing number of clients from Asia, mainly Singaporeans and Hong Kongers looking for double eyelids and Indians seeking nose jobs. “They don’t like talking to their families about it so if they just tell them they’re going on holidays to Penang that’s fine.”

Most of her clients are women, but she has had several men seeking liposuction, breast reduction and nose jobs. Her youngest patient was 19, for breast augmentation, and the oldest was 62, for a tummy tuck. Giezenaar believes cosmetic surgery is about to boom in Asia, with women having increasing disposable income and a desire matching their Europe counterparts to improve on what nature has given them. It’s not all cheap – the most expensive operation. “A full facelift with all the endoscopic forehead lift and double eyelids ins about 18,000 ringgit (nearly $5,000), just for surgery.”