Union Hospital and Dragonair Holidays have joined forces to promote Hong Kong as a destination for medical tourists.

According to a joint announcement on Wednesday, the scheme is aimed at luring affluent mainlanders to visit Hong Kong for medical checkups.

The pioneering venture between the private hospital in Tai Wai, Sha Tin, and the subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways will offer packages that include a half-day medical checkup at the private hospital plus air tickets, hotel, transportation and a half-day sightseeing tour around Hong Kong Island organized by the airline.

A doctor's report on the medical status of the person will be included.

The cost of the four- and five-day packages ranges from about HK$6,760 to HK$12,570 a person, depending on the departure location and season.

The basic checkup includes a standard medical evaluation of blood pressure, glucose level, urine, liver, kidneys, electrocardiogram and chest x-ray.

Additional tests such as breast checks and pap smears are available at extra cost.

The medical tour is being targeted at middle- class professionals in 10 affluent mainland cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Changsha, Wuhan, Qingdao, Dalian and Shenyang.

Chief hospital manager and medical director Anthony Lee Kai-yin is confident mainlanders will be prepared to pay for the body checkups in Hong Kong even though the price is two to three times more than in the mainland.

"Many hospitals in the mainland may have caught up with our hardware, but not the software. Hong Kong's health-care sector has a good brand image for high-quality hospital and medical services, and doctors' credibility," Lee said.

Currently, mainlanders comprise about 1.5 percent of the hospital's in-patient services, which is double the rate of a year ago.

Lee said the increased intake would not affect services to local patients.

He said he hoped the scheme would attract new customers, as most of the current mainland patients are relatives of local residents.

Dragonair Holidays international sales manager Ophelia Ng Ka-wai said bundling conventional tourism packages with medical services can also increase Hong Kong's competitiveness as a medical hub.

"Mainland tourists are becoming more mature, more and more are not just looking for discounts, they want diversified products," Ng said.

However, Hong Kong's immigration policy does not really promote Hong Kong as a medical hub, according to Hong Kong Private Hospitals Association chairman Alan Lau Kwok-lam. The government should simplify visa procedures for mainlanders seeking medical services in Hong Kong and consider visa extensions for those requiring post-medical treatment, he said.

In August the Taiwanese government eased the visa application procedures for mainlanders seeking medical treatment. The program is expected to attract about 100,000 mainland and overseas visitors to the island in three years. (by Carol Chung)