This is the second article
of series I am writing on tourism in India. The first article highlighted some major ways in which we can boost the inflow
of foreign tourists to India.
As we saw
earlier medical treatment can be one of
the major reasons for tourism. Today, India is ranked among the world’s top 5 most
sought destinations for the purpose of medical treatments by foreign nationals.
In simpler terms, traveling to another country for the purpose of seeking
medical treatment in that country constitutes medical tourism.
India is known mostly for its
cost-effective medical treatments along with high standards of care in areas
including cardiology, orthopaedics, nephrology, oncology, dentistry and neuro
surgery. India is also gaining increasing recognition as a center of excellence
for complementary and alternative treatment options like yoga and ayurveda.
According to a
study done by the PHD Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, India along with
Thailand and Singapore is placed among the top three medical tourism
destinations in Asia. Some of the leading factors contributing to this success are
low cost of treatment, quality healthcare infrastructure and availability of
highly-skilled doctors. The study found that these three countries together
accounted for about 60 percent of the total Asian medical tourism revenue in
2012. The table below provides details of India’s market share of medical
tourism.
Typically, most of the medical centers
catering to medical tourism receive accreditation by an international agency. Accreditation
by Joint Commission
International is one of the most widely
recognized regulatory compliances for medical tourism. Currently India has 21
medical care centers which have been accredited by the Joint Commission. Complying and sustaining the highest
standards of quality and safety requires a huge capital investment and
availability of highly qualified support and operations staff. This adds to the
cost of setting and running such centers and becomes a barrier in increasing
the number of center which can supply care for medical tourists. Increasing the capacity will boost the
medical tourism in India along with having a synergistic influence of all
sectors of tourism.
1)
Offering tax breaks and export incentives to practicing hospitals and
health and wellness centers.
2)
Extending the time period of the
Mvisa and MXvisa (Medical Visa).
3)
Providing market development assistance to the health centers.
Additionally,
state governments/union territory administrations and other stakeholders are promoting
medical tourism as a niche product in the international markets. The Ministry
of Tourism is also promoting medical and wellness tourism by organizing road
shows in potential markets as well as exhibiting and participating in various
international travel events.
However,
given the increasing importance of medical tourism and the special attention
needed for nurturing an environment to promote it, I am of the opinion that the
government should have a separate body for promoting medical tourism. This is
similar to the move where few years ago the Government of India (GOI) separated
the promotion of pharmaceuticals from under CHEMEXCIL and formed PHARMEXCIL, a
new export promotion council dedicated exclusively to pharmaceuticals. The
positive result from such moves supports the creation of a new agency dedicated
exclusively to medical tourism.
The easing
of visa norms is a welcome move
as patients can meet the doctors, go back and discuss the details with their
families, and return for the procedure. Earlier, most of these discussions took
place over email or through intermediaries. Nothing can substitute the feeling
of visiting your doctor personally and observing the health care facility where
you intend to get treatment. This in itself may serve as an encouragement for
people to consider getting treatment in a foreign country.
Some of the Middle
Eastern countries and Russia
are already upbeat about the proposal. Current trends show and upward rise in
the number of visa issued for medical purposes leading to a significant
increase in the number of patients arriving in India for medical treatment. Not
only Arab patients but their relatives accompanying them also
feel at home in India. One of the key
factors can be the presence of a number of restaurants in India which serve
their local food. Shared religious and cultural context can also add in making India
a preferred destination for medical tourism. An improved air-rail-road connectivity
can ease the travel concerns of the patients.
Concentrated efforts will be needed to
improve medical tourism in India and thereby also benefit overall tourism. As
the above figure depicts, currently India accounts for only 2-3% of the total global
medical tourism. So there is tremendous scope to improve and grow. An offshoot
of improvement in medical tourism can also be the health benefits to local
population by the way of better medical facilities, enhanced training of allied
health professionals and an exchange of best medical practices from around the
world.
