Mainland rich go to Taiwan for checkups

Another customer, surnamed Liu, who went to the hospital for a health checkup package for women, said the jelly the B-scan doctor applied on her belly was warm, an unexpected and human-oriented service, as on the mainland the jelly is usually cold and feels uncomfortable.

The package, mainly about early breast cancer screening, costs about 5,400 yuan, she said.

Despite the rising trend, health checkup tourists from the mainland account for only 5 percent of the total at the center, Hung said.

"There must be a major increase in the future," he said.

International studies showed that usually about 3 percent of a developing country's rich population considers international health tourism, Hung said.

"That figure should be at least 60 million in the case of mainland, which might be our potential clients," he said.

He urged Taiwan authorities to boost the efforts by actively promoting the "Taiwan healthcare" brand.

Many countries and regions worldwide have begun to eye the health tourism market, he said.

"The competition is actually among countries and regions rather than just healthcare providers," Hung said.

In Singapore, for instance, the government invests $100 million every year to promote its local healthcare brands internationally.

Films and TV shows in South Korea have even included scenes about healthcare and plastic surgery.

"Taiwan should learn from them and become a top destination for healthcare tourists from the mainland," he expected, adding that Taiwan strikes a good balance of quality and affordability.

But for the super-rich in metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai, "They are eyeing the best of the best, like Europe and the US," he said.