Kasemrad Plastic Surgery (KPS), a subsidiary of the SET-listed Bangkok Chain Hospital Plc (BCH), believes the Thai cosmetic surgery market is still growing and plans to launch three new surgery centres in 2025.
Chalerm Harnphanich, director, chairman of the executive committee, and chief executive of BCH, said the global plastic surgery industry is poised for double-digit growth annually.
"The cosmetic surgery market in Thailand has room for growth as the government promotes the tourism industry, including medical tourism," said Mr Chalerm.
Kyoung-Jin Kang, founder and chief executive of the Korean College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine (KCCS), said Chinese, Thais and Indonesians were the leading nationalities in terms of foreign nationals who travel to South Korea for aesthetic surgical procedures such as nose surgery, breast surgery and facial restructuring surgery.
However, Chinese, Cambodians and Indonesians are the leading nationalities in terms of foreigners who come to Thailand for plastic surgery, said Sumet Bunyajetpong, chief executive of KPS.
According to KPS, foreigners account for around 10% of the all its patients, with the majority coming from the Middle East.
Mr Sumet said the company collaborates with KCCS to elevate the standards of cosmetic surgery in Thailand.
This partnership involves knowledge exchange, through which KPS doctors will get the opportunity to observe and train with KCCS experts, and KCCS doctors will visit KPS to share their knowledge and experience with Thai medical teams.
"The company has opened two centres and plans to open three more surgery centres by 2025, with an investment budget of roughly 200 million baht," Mr Sumet said.
According to its long-term plan, the company aims to expand KPS surgery centres to all 12 of its hospitals within the Kasemrad Hospital Group, said Kantaporn Harnphanich, director, member of the executive committee and chief marketing officer of BCH.
Thailand's cosmetic surgery market is expected to be worth 71-72 billion baht in 2023, according to Kasikorn Research Centre.
Mr Kantaporn said that the company forecasts the cosmetic surgery market in Thailand to grow 2-3% this year.
