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Cosmetic
Surgery & Beauty Magazine, pg 55 - 59
July - Dec 2003,
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Holidays of Beauty.
Shopping, Sightseeing, Sun-soaked days on the beach. Corina van Leeuwen
is enjoying what outwardly seems to be a typical holiday in Penang.
What makes this pleasure trip different is that Corina will be returning
to her native Holland with some unusual souvenirs.
Two of them, to be exact. And they’re both silicone.
The idea is a relatively new one, known as beauty or health tourism.
And though it may seem strange to some to travel thousands of miles
to have cosmetic surgery done, the idea made perfect sense to Corina.
She says she wanted to put a comfortable distance between herself
and her family and friends until she had undergone and recovered
from breast implant surgery. |
“I’m happy with myself,” Corina explains with a smile. “But
that was the only thing that I wanted to adjust or get better.”
She has reason to be happy with herself. At age 25, Corina already
manages her own communication company. And she says that by all other
standards she is happy with her body. But she says she has always
felt her breasts, which border between an A-cup and B-cup, have not
been large enough to be in proportion with the rest of her body.
“When I was younger I thought maybe it was a phase in my life that I really
wanted it [breast enhancement],” Corina says. “But I had the feeling
that I wanted it for many years.”
After years of deliberation, Corina finally decided breast augmentation
surgery was the right choice.
“Now I think, ‘Okay, it’s really what I want, so let’s
do it.”
| “Everything is arranged
from my flight to the end,” she says. “Everything. So I don’t
have to take care of anything myself. |
Doctoring the traditional vacation
package
Just as her decision to go through with breast augmentation
surgery was years in the making, Corina’s search for
a clinic where she could have the surgery performed took months.
Through her search, she came across Beautiful Holidays – a
package deal that joins aesthetic surgery with luxurious vacation.
“The idea came when I saw that my friends back in Europe had plastic surgery
done,” said Marloes Giezenaar, creator and managing director of Beautiful
Holidays. “I knew the prices they were paying and I saw the results of
what they were having done. When I came through Penang I also met some expatriates
here who had the same thing done, which is usually a nose job or a facelift or
liposuction or breast augmentation.
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BEFORE |
AFTER |
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“I saw the difference in
pricing and I thought, ‘This is really something,’ because
the people here have the same quality, and the result is the
same.”
The difference in pricing, Giezenaar soon discovered, is profound.
She says costs of procedures performed in Penang average between
30 and 40 percent cheaper than the same surgery in the United
States or Europe. Throw in a plane ticket and tantalizing extras
like two weeks in a five-star hotel and a coordinator to arrange
the scheduling of surgery and leisure time, and you’ve
got an attractive vacation package in addition to your surgery – for
the same price that the procedure alone would be!
“We are the only company in the world that’s doing this, that’s
offering the full-service package from the moment that you leave your house to
the moment you return in your house,” Giezenaar says. “We arrange
everything. We arrange the flights, the consultations, the translators that you
might need during your talk with the doctors. The whole package.”
Corina says the package offered by Beautiful Holidays was instantly
attractive to her as she had never been to Penang before and
preferred to have a bit of guidance in order to fully enjoy
her stayed.
“Everything is arranged from my flight to the end,” she says. “Everything.
So I don’t have to take care of anything myself. Because I’m in foreign
country, I don’t know when something’s wrong. I don’t know
where to go. And now everything is fully arranged, so that is a big plus.”
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Corina adds that the price of her package was also a big factor
in the decision to come to Penang. She says that compared
to the quotes she received in Europe for surgery alone – 1000
Euros, another at the 500 Euros – the 4500 Euro price
tag of the Beautiful Holidays vacation seemed quite reasonable
to her.
“The thing is, I’ve paid for this holiday including surgery and consultation,
and everything is about the same as just having the surgery alone in Holland,” Corina
says, “So it’s really competitive. Here I have the same service and
I have a holiday with it, so it’s even better.”
But leisure and costs aside, Corina says the most attractive
feature of Beautiful Holidays was privacy. She says she did
not tell any of her friends or family about the special motive
behind her trip to Penang, for fear that they may have tried
to dissuade her.
Giezenaar says the privacy offered by her company is a big
plus for most of her clients.
“I think that’s the main thing that makes us unique,” Giezenaar
says. “They can tell their families and their friends that they’re
going on a holidays to Penang. They don’t have to say to their family and
friends that they’re going to have plastic surgery – they can keep
it private.”
“When I go back to Holland I can immediately go back to work, so that’s
a big plus,” Corina says. “So everybody thinks I’m back to
daily things in Holland.” |
Hospital in Paradise
Aside from Penang’s popular attractions and inviting
beaches, the island boasts another aspect that makes it ideal
for Beautiful Holidays – the 2 private Specialist Centres.
Doctors at these 2 private hospitals perform the surgeries
of every Beautiful Holidays client.
“Basically we provide the medical service,” says by the CEO of one
of the hospital that we work with. Beautiful Holidays will arrange everything
else where the hotels and travels are concerned. Our side is just to provide
good medical services to them.”
And the CEO of that hospital says that the medical services
here are world class. Specially equipped for a wide range of
aesthetic procedures, the center offers surgeries ranging from
facelifts to liposuction – and, of course, breast augmentation. |
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BEFORE |
“Well, I think where health care is concerned, Malaysia has come a long
way,” CEO of that hospital says. “We are well equipped, and our standard
is high, if not on par with the western countries.”
“Maybe previously people were a bit apprehensive about getting cosmetic
work done in an Asian country,” She says. “But Malaysia is one of
the key countries that has proven itself to be efficient in doing plastic and
cosmetic surgery. I hope that we will pass on the information that we do have
good facilities for plastic surgery work in Malaysia.
By all appearances, foreigners are anything but hesitant to
come to Malaysia to have their cosmetic surgeries done. Giezenaar
says since the inception of Beautiful Holidays nine months
ago, 31 clients have left Penang with trimmer thighs, fewer
wrinkles, or with other improvements in appearance. And she
says word is starting to spread around Southeast Asia as well.
“Most of our clients are from Europe and the US,” she says. “We
are starting to get some requests from Japan, from Hong Kong, and from Singapore – and
even some people from (Kuala Lumpur), which is only about a three and a half
hour drive away.” |
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| The Results |
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Nine days after her surgery, Corina jogs along a stretch of
sandy beach in her bikini. Though she still experiences a bit
of a swelling and the incisions in her armpits are still a
dark pink, she says the after effects of the surgery are lessening
by the day.
“It went quite well, I’m very happy with the results, and I feel
great,” she says with a smile.
Giezenaar says Corina’s smooth surgery and quick recovery
are pretty standard for someone in her age group. And she says
she feels the relaxation of a vacation in the tropics helps
patients recover more quickly and more comfortably.
“I think she found it very good, I think she got out of it what she wanted” Giezenaar
says.” She wanted to have fuller breasts, she wanted to have a tan and
she wanted to relax – and I think she’s achieved those three things.”
Giezenaar adds that clients are, on the whole, completely happy
with the experience and results they get from Beautiful Holidays.
But she says she feels it is important for her to keep her
eyes open for new ways to make the beauty tourism package all
the more attractive.
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AFTER |
“I definitely hope we can still improve on some of our service levels,” Giezenaar
says. “We hope to start offering more things as well, into the tourist
lines, that we can package work together with spas. Perhaps package rejuvenating
spa treatments and beauty treatments for post operation.”
Giezenaar notes that as more elements are added to the package,
more and more foreigners may flock to Malaysia for their cosmetic
surgeries. But, she says, word of mouth is also an important
factor in pulling in the overseas clientele.
“They go home looking more beautiful and they got what they wanted,” Giezenaar
says. “Most people would have done (the procedure) in their own countries
anyway. It’s just a choice between, ‘Okay, I know that I want plastic
surgery, now I can do it in my own country, or now there’s Beautiful Holidays
and you’ve got a chance to go on a holiday in the sun as well!”
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| “If
people want to stay in a three-star hotel, we give them that
option,” she says. “If they want in a five star hotel, there’s
the option. We’ve got economy flight, business class flight.
It’s all up to you how expensive you want it to be, or how
exclusive you want it to be.” |
Marloes Giezenaar, MD of Beautiful
Holidays, based in Penang |
The Formula for a Beautiful Holiday
Marloes Giezenaar, managing director of Beautiful Holidays, says
the success of her Penang-based beauty tourism business relies upon
three elements: Affordability, anonymity, and professionalism.
Affordability
It can be argued that traditionally, both cosmetic surgery and resort-style
holiday gateways have been restricted to only those rich enough to
afford them. However, Giezenaar says, the parameters of Beautiful
Holiday package can be tailored to fit a wide range of budgets.
“If people want to stay in a three-star hotel, we give them that option,” she
says. “If they want in a five-star hotel, there’s the option. We’ve
got economy flight, business class flight. It’s all up to you how expensive
you wan it to be, or hoe exclusive you want it to be.”
She notes, however, that corners are never cut when it comes to the
quality and safety of the medical procedures provided.
“For the plastic surgery, for the level of quality there’s no way
can do anything with the process. This is fixed.”
Anonymity
So you want to go through surgery to improve your appearance, but
you don’t want to be the talk of the office. Or maybe you would
simply prefer to recover from surgery at a high-class hotel on the
beach instead of suffering home visits from the inevitable stream
of relatives bearing chicken soup.
Giezenaar says Beautiful Holidays eliminates these problems by whisking
clients away from overly curios friends, family and coworkers for
two weeks, allowing for a full and private recovery before the flight
home.
“I think anonymity is very important,” Giezenaar notes. “If
you talk with your friends or your family, you don’t necessarily have to
tell them that you’re going to have a plastic surgery or a cosmetic surgery
procedure. You can just tell them that you will be going on a holiday.”
Professionalism
Giezenaar says in order to ensure that both recreation and procedures
are organized efficiently and safely, a team of professionals is
a must.
“We’ve got a team of international managers around the world, in
Europe and the US and here to look after you,” she says. “We’ve
got professional translator to help you during consultation if you have a problem
with the English language.”
CEO of one of the hospital that we work with, agrees, adding that
many foreign clients prefer to work with specialist with experience
overseas.
“Most of our specialists here are overseas trained, the majority from UK,” CEO
of that hospital says. “So they are familiar with foreign patient.”
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