The figures speak volumes about the magnitude of medical tourism from China and the number of billionaires who are prepared to spend top dollar for overseas medical visits.
Some 483,000 people travelled from China for medical tourism last year.
They spent US$6.3 billion on treatment and a further $3.4 billion on travel and accommodation, making outbound Chinese medical tourism a $9.7-billion business.
The numbers have been growing rapidly over the past few years, with the volume of travellers estimated to be increasing 31% annually since 2012.
This double-digit growth is set to continue, with outbound Chinese medical tourists expected to surpass 800,000 in 2020.
China last year ranked No.1 in the world's billionaire tally with 568, compared with 535 in the US, with 90 more added this year.
The combined net worth of the Chinese billionaires is $1.4 trillion, similar to the GDP of Australia.
Diana Chou, founder and chairman of L'VOYAGE, a private jet chartering company based in Hong Kong, cited these figures to highlight the Chinese as the world's top market for medical tourism and holidays, especially among affluent travellers.
Thailand can do much to capture the tremendous opportunity from this wealthy Chinese market segment, said the Hong Kong-based executive with extensive experience in China's business aviation market.
Thailand has several underused luxury aviation opportunities, Ms Chou told the Bangkok Post.
Chief among these is the development of ultra-luxury medical tourism trips by private jet.
The other is the use of helicopters in tourism, as about 10% of Thailand's 115 helicopters are for civil use and just a handful are used for tourism, mostly in Phuket and Bangkok.
In China, for instance, helicopters are even used to fly tourists to the Great Wall, Guilin caves and river sights, Ms Chou said.
With proper promotion and publicity specifically focused on China, Thailand has strong potential to lure more ultra-luxury medical tourism trips by very-rich Chinese to Thailand and away from Singapore and Malaysia.
Ms Chou pointed out that Singapore, for instance, has the edge over Thailand by way of its Mandarin-speaking skills, which make tycoons from China feel more at home.
"Singapore and Malaysia are not doing more than what Thailand is doing [in promoting medical tourism], but it's more the image and awareness," she said.
She stressed the need for Thailand to develop Mandarin-language skills at premises catering to Chinese clientele.