Shafeeq Rahman examines the prospects of a growing market for medical tourism
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MEDICAL AND healthcare is an emerging segment of Indian tourism and is cited as one of the chief reason for tourists visiting India. In 2010, 1,55,944 tourists from across the globe visited India for health related treatment. The information was released by the Ministry of Tourism. It goes on to say this is because ‘India has the finest qualified doctors with international repute in all disciplines and has a team of well-trained nurses and other health workers distinguished by their expertise globally. Modern stateof- art infrastructure and hospitals are functional under public and private sector accord to the international standard.’
The report further mentions well known multispeciality hospitals regarded and accepted as modern hospitals under allopathic treatment in India. These being: Apollo Hospitals (Chennai & New Delhi), Fortis-Escorts (New Delhi & Noida), Wockhardt (seven each in Maharashtra, Gujarat & Goa), Tata Memorial Mumbai, AIIMS and Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. India is regarded as a low cost and zero waiting destination in comparison to the West; costs about a fifth or a tenth and in advanced surgeries, which is 10-15 times lower than in the West. The clinical outcomes are at par with the world’s best centres.
India has one of the largest pharmaceutical industries in the world and exports pharmaceuticals to more than 180 countries. India’s medical tourism sector is expected to experience an annual growth rate of 30 per cent, making it a Rs 9,500 crore industry by 2015. The estimated value of medical tourism in India is slated to touch $2 billion a year by 2012. Considering the importance of wellness tourism in India, the government has taken various measures to promote medical tourism in the country. These include extending financial support under marketing development assistance (MDA) scheme to medical tourism service providers and medical tourism facilitators for promotion of medical tourism in overseas markets and introduction of an additional category of ‘medical visa’ for foreign tourists coming to India for medical treatment.
India spent 1.5 per cent of its GDP on health while the total expenditure including private and external is 4.5 per cent of total GDP during the year 2008-09. There is little doubt that government expenditure on health has increased manifold during the past few years in public and private sectors. It has the vast health infrastructure and manpower in all discipline under both the sectors. Currently, there are around 12,000 government hospitals with more than four lakh beds strength in modern allopath while the private sector has greater network of hospitals and beds. Under AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Yoga, Naturopathy, Homeopathy and Amchi/ Tibetan), there are 3,371 hospitals are with a bed strength of 66,272.
According to first government estimates for the year 2009, 1,12,389 foreign tourists from 65 countries visited India to seek medical treatment. In 2010, 39 per cent growth was recorded with a total of 1,55,944 medical tourists seeking Indian medical treatment. It is to be noted that 90 per cent tourists who arrived in the country were from developing nations, chiefly, Maldives (36,694), Bangladesh (35,853), Nigeria (6,021), Iraq (6,773), Oman (5,820), Afghanistan (5,211), Sri Lanka (5,064) and United Arab Emirates (3,184). These nations constitute 70 per cent of the total medical tourists visiting. Patients from the United States (1,863), Malaysia (1,612) and the United Kingdom (1,519) also visited. There are several drivers that promote medical tourism from oic countries: availability of halal food and other cultural criteria. These countries have also found Indian hospitality friendly. In this area, the countries that compete on medical tourism are Thailand, Jordan, Malaysia and Singapore.
THE PRODUCT list of medical interventions sought is long. While cardiac treatment is the most popular product at 30 per cent, followed with orthopaedics (15 per cent), nephrology (12 per cent), neuro surgery (11 per cent) and cancer at (11 per cent) and the rest for other treatments. Further in the domestic medical tourism market, an estimated amount of Rs 2,31,970 million is spent by the people of India against health and medical trips during the period July 2008- June 2009 as per the official data. Most of these overnight and day visits are made by people living in rural areas. The number of rural visitors under day and night visit for July 2008 – June 2009 period was 33,54,831 (88 per cent), while urban visitors were 4,72,672 (12 per cent).
Until now, medical tourism is conducted fairly well by the private hospitals, with most offering special packages, inclusive of air tickets, boarding of family members to catering for mundane needs. Hospitals are known to tie up with rental accommodations to provide lodging facilities. While the facts hint at a rapidly growing market, it is important that the government monitors the activities of the hospitals (private or public). It is also imperative that the hospitals provide effective and financially viable treatment, so that they continue to harness the potential of medical tourism.
It works that almost all Indian hospitals servicing medical tourists are accredited either by the Joint Commission International or the National Board for Accreditation of Hospitals and Health Care and follow international safety standards. India so far remains a safe and preferred medical destination. The government should carve schemes and promote this growing market.
Posted on 29 December 2011 in Tehelka
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