India is one of the most attracting countries in the world, with especially of medical tourists, because it has more hospital and immense environment. It is estimated that the volume of medical tourists worldwide could reach up to 5 million by 2016. Medical tourism is broadly depends on health and wellness, these all amenities are very high , so foreign tourists eagerly waited for selecting of medical tourism services in the field of medical, dental and surgical care, and at the same time, visit the local attractions of that country.
Medical tourism can be broadly defined as provision of 'cost effective' private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical and other forms of specialized treatment. This process is being facilitated by the corporate sector involved in medical care as well as the tourism industry – both private and public.
Medical tourism structure in India
• Medical Tourism is poised to be the next Indian success story after Information Technology.
• According to a CII study the Industry’s earning potential estimated at Rs.5000-10000 Crore by 2012.
• Medical tourism can contribute Rs 5,000- 10,000 Croce additional revenue for up- market tertiary hospitals by 2012and will account for 3-5% of the total healthcare delivery market.
• The major service providers in Indian medical tourism :
• The Apollo Hospital, Escorts Hospital, Fortis Hospitals, Breach Candy, Hinduja, Mumbai’s Asian Heart Institute, Arvind Eye Hospital, Manipal Hospitals, Mallya Hospital, AIIMS.
• In terms of location- Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai cater to the maximum number of the health tourists and are fast emerging as medical tourism hubs.
• Nowadays medical tourism in India includes advanced and life savings health care services like open transplants, cardio vascular surgery.
Growth
• The commitment to provide comprehensive healthcare to all citizens, irrespective of their paying capacity, was given up by the Indian government after 30 years of the Indian independence.
• After the globalization and liberalization of Indian economy on 1991, the government of India has opened up medical service to the voluntary and private sectors for foreign tourists and other citizen who can pay to get the high tech medical services.
• The rapid growth of the private sector over the 1980s and the emergence of a corporate health sector in the 1980s was a part of the comprehensive policy that choose to promote these segments.
• As a part of medical tourism, India is recognized as the cradle for the test tube babies and is popular for surrogacy services.
• Over than these, India offer high tech cardiac, pediatric, dental, cosmetic and orthopedic surgical services as well as the traditional healing systems.
• One estimate by Price water house Cooper’s projects that the Indian healthcare sector should be worth about $40 billion by 2012.
• In 2008 the size of the industry was around Rs. 1,500 Crores. India’s medical tourism sector is expected to experience an annual growth rate of 30 percent, making it a Rs. 9,500 crore industry by 2015.
• Estimates of the value of medical tourism to India go as high as $2 billion a year by 2016
What are the top specialties for medical travelers?
The medical tourism in India is consistently increasing, because the following treatments are very easy and convinced to the tourists that are
• Cosmetic surgery
• Dentistry (general, restorative, cosmetic)
• Cardiovascular (angioplasty, CABG, transplants)
• Orthopedics (joint and spine; sports medicine)
• Cancer (often high-acuity or last resort)
• Reproductive (fertility, IVF, women's health)
• Weight loss (LAP-BAND, gastric bypass)
• Scans, tests, health screenings and second opinions.
Objectives
1. To identify the medical tourism facilities and opportunities in India.
2. To identify the specialty of medical travelers to choose India
Research methodology
The present study is depending on secondary data. The secondary data was collected from Minister of tourism, religious tourism articles and also search tourism service journals and edited books and websites
Why India?
India offers World Class Medical Facilities, comparable with any of the western countries. India has state of the art Hospitals and the best qualified doctors. With the best infrastructure, the best possible Medical facilities, accompanied with the most competitive prices, you can get the treatment done in India at the lowest charges.
• India is in the process of becoming the “Global Health Destination”
• The cost of medical services in India is almost 30% lower to that in Western countries and the cheapest in South-east Asia.
• Indian hospitals excel in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, joint replacements, transplants, cosmetic treatments, dental care, orthopedic surgery
Low cost
Offshore medical procedures are conducted for as much as one-tenth the cost of a comparable treatment in developed countries due to the economic disparity.
A bone-marrow transplant which would cost you around $250,000 in the US and £150,000 in UK will cost you a mere $26,000 in India. A patient can successfully get a gastric bypass surgery in India by paying just $9,500 as against a $65,000 price tag for the same in the US. It is also a good idea to avail a medical tourism package which would include airfare, accommodation charges and a visit to some of the holiday destinations in the country. The following are the top countries which are expected medical services in India.
Costa Rica, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United States.
The key highlights of medical tourism in India are
Medical tourism market is expected to be valued at $ 4 billion.
In India Health care sector is key are from last one decade, it also integrated with insurance market, strong pharmaceutical industry, cheap international travel, and quality health care are increasingly making India a preferred tourist destination .India is directly and indirectly hosts about 1.27 million tourists from various countries, such as U.S.A, U.K, .Canada in addition to visitors from nearby countries of Sri lanka, China, Nepal.
Health market includes secondary players from the tourism industry who greatly gives benefit from visitors to India. the Government of India also estimates high growth rate i,e more than 5 percent for the next 10 years , and it also attract more such a visitors ,in India the major Corporations such as Tata, Fortis, Max, Wockhardt, and Apollo Hospitals. It plays a significance investment in establish of modern hospitals and tourism related services to cater to the new brand of visitors from abroad.
Tourists come to India for economic reasons and market attractiveness.
In India , most of the people are speaks English, it a best advantage to the patients and doctors For example, a heart bypass procedure costs roughly $140,000 without any insurance in the US. The same procedure, however, costs only around $7,000 or Rs 3 lakh at one of India’s leading surgery centers including the cost of travel and accommodation. in western countries most of the countries are cosmetic procedure are not allowed. India has many top-notch centers for open-heart surgery and pediatric heart surgeries which are equipped with the latest equipment that are on par with these Western countries. In India, very famous surgery of hip and knee replacement, face lift, and gastric bypass
India is also acutely aware of the quality thinking of its visitors, many Indian hospitals that cater to foreign tourists meet the requirements of US health standards like Food and Drug Administration and Joint Commission Accreditation for hospitals, hoping to fight this notion.
India is also home to a number of alternative medicine techniques such as Ayurveda, Sidha, Unani, Yoga, Acupuncture and Homeopathy which are very popular among foreigners.it are very famous and it is a good rivalry competition of Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and UAE.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi are top destinations for foreign visitors. Based on the government’s statistics of foreign tourists for 2010,more than 55 percent of visitors went to medical centers in these three states alone. Quality hotels, added tourism opportunities, and high-quality hospital care are the biggest reasons for this trend.
Top 10 states Foreign visitors (In lakhs) Percentage(%)
Maharastra 5.1 28.5
Tamilnadu 2.8 15.7
Delhi 1.9 10.6
Uttharpradesh 1.7 9.4
Rajastan 1.3 7.2
West Bengal 1.2 6.7
Kerala 0.7 3.7
Bihar 0.6 3.6
Himachal pradesh 0.5 2.5
Goa 0.4 2.5
Others 1.7 9.7
Total 17.9 100
(Source: Madras School of Economics)
Infrastructure and better health-related investments will decide the future.
While consider all the points India is a demandable country for medical services. Some key factors will determine whether medical tourism becomes India’s next crown jewel, like our Information Technology industry.
• Infrastructure investment by the government: The health industry as a whole has seen meager growth as far as infrastructure is concerned. This has been primarily due to investments coming from the private players in the market. The government needs to step in and provide basic infrastructure services which will improve basic access to high quality centers.
• Reducing barriers for visiting India for medical purposes: Currently, foreigners need the “M-Visa” to come to India for medical purposes. Obtaining the visa is a huge barrier for medical tourists wanting to come here. India should consider offering visa-on-arrival type of services and partner with medical and tourism providers to streamline administrative processes.
• Raise quality standards to meet Western providers: Such partnerships will give confidence to foreign tourists to choose India over competitors like Malaysia and Singapore.
• Market health tourism in Western countries: With the ever-growing need for cheaper health care and complex health insurance offerings in the US and UK, Indian hospitals could target the neglected populations of those countries and draw them here to provide a cheaper alternative. This could be a boon for both the Western economies and India’s.
Conclusion
It is concluded that medical tourism is one of the emerging sector, it enhances the economy growth in future. In India large number of hospitals which provide different services to Indian as well as foreigners. There are peculiar services solutions are only provide by Indian country, i.e. are Cosmetic and plastic surgery, so foreign tourists mostly they attracted to take services in India, and also Indian heritage and environment which are very popular, parallels people also tasted. India is emerging as an attractive, affordable for healthcare & BUT there are some challenges that the country has to overcome to become a tourist destination with competent health care industry.