ITB Special
com
HEALING
ACROSS BORDERS
India leading the way for Medical Tourism
Medical Tourism in India is booming and there are reports aplenty to back the claim. To quote a 2015
report by Grant Thornton, Indias medical tourism market, then valued at $3 billion, at present, is projected
to touch $8 billion by 2020. The same report goes on to say that price is the main motivator for 80 per cent
of patient movements.
Gurpreet K Sekhon
A
n interesting thing that questions
the whole premise that 80 per cent
medical tourism is propelled by cost, is
challenged when we look at these statistics
provided by IIWMTA, India International
Wellness & Medical Tourism Association
(refer inset).
While Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in
that order, contribute majorly to Medical
Tourism in India, the numbers from US
and UK are abysmal. So is it proximity that
matters, the lack of comparable facilities
in the countries of origin or is it a lack of
awareness about Indias immense and
highly competent medical care capabilities,
is something that needs looking into.
SOURCE COUNTRIES
Our panellists had similar answers when
asked about the countries that led the
Medical Tourism traffic for them. With a
few variations, they agreed that In SAARC
20
countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and
Pakistan lead the way, for Africa, which
is another major feeder market, tourists
travel from Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda,
Ethiopia,Tanzania and Sudan. Oman, and
Iraq represent the ME while Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Turkmenistan
lead the way for the GIS region.
D Arun Kumar, Founder and Chief
Executive, Mediescapes India one of the
pioneer companies in Medical Tourism
in India shares, When we started it
was essentially Americans and British
patients till 2009-10. Australians, Africans,
Afghanistan, Pakistani, SE Asians and
patients from the ME followed. Nordic and
BENLUX countries are joining the list given
the strong publicity and marketing efforts
abroad in new regions.
When asked about what led to this shift,
Kumar adds, It is due to access to excellent
services now available to US citizens just
travelscapesonline.
across the border in New Mexico, as well
as South America. The UK patients have
shifted loyalties to France, Germany and
Poland.
PROCEDURES
Sunil Kapur, Head Sales, Fortis Healthcare
Limited lists oncology treatment,
transplants (kidney, liver, bone marrow),
neuro-spine surgeries, orthopaedic
surgeries, cosmetic procedures and fertility
treatments as the major procedures
overseas patients come to Fortis for.
Asif Shah, Head - Branding & Medical
Tourism Events and Conferences, Metro
Hospitals includes angioplasty, vascular
surgeries, bypass surgery, thoracic
surgeries, neuro and spine surgeries, joint
replacements, bariatric surgeries, kidney
transplant, GI surgeries, radiation, medical
and surgical oncology along with cochlear
implants in his list.
travelscapesonline.com ITB Special

D Arun Kumar Sunil Kapur Asif Shah Nandini Basu Phookan

Nandini Basu Phookan, Managing Director and are backed up by client testimonials. choices that the patients are familiar with,
and Founder, Vaidyaa sees patients Given the same, hospitals have opened in addition to on-demand food specially
coming in mostly for surgical procedures special desks to cater the needs of prepared by trained chefs. Local phones
urology, orthopaedic and cardiology as well international patients. Metro Hospitals and internet are also provided so that they
as witnesses a lot of interest in fertility offers a range of services to international may stay connected with their families. The
treatments. medical tourists shares Shah, Not just hospital also provides translators.
Kumar, yet again, informs how treatments Medical Tourism, India is a great destination We,at Metro hospitals, also offer online
for medical travellers have evolved over for tourism, we often promote both of them consultation to overseas patients to help
the years for Mediescapes. When we together, this helps in leveraging footfalls. arrive at the right treatment and make their
started providing healthcare facilitation, Providing doctors allow, we provide the trip to India fruitful. Maximum work is done
it was mostly for dental, cosmetic, spinal facility for sightseeing as well as shopping before their arrival. The same goes for post
surgeries and hip and knee replacements. assistance. The hospital also extends food procedure or treatment follow-ups, which
Later the demand for breast cancer, bone are done online, elaborates Shah.
marrow transplants, kidney and liver Country-wise foreigner arrival on medical & medical Fortis also has similar services for
transplants took prominence. Nowadays, attendant visa during 2016 medical tourists. For medical tourists,
the mushrooming of branded Super Nationality Medical Medical Visa there is a dedicated window of contact at
Attendant
Specialty Hospitals in gateway cities has all Fortis hospitals, through which round
Afghanistan 7500 20000
raised the demand for a plethora of invasive Bahrain 150 200 the clock service is provided to them.
and non-invasive treatments, shares Bangladesh 40000 63000 Our services extend from complimentary
Kumar. Djibouti 95 180 airport transfers, accommodation and
Ethiopia 450 600 food assistance to the provision of a local
MEDICAL FACILITATORS Iraq 6500 7000 mobile sim card and city tours among other
Mediescapes started in 2005 when Kumar, Kazakhstan 50 45 things, informs Kapur.
Kenya 2500 2000
a travel professional happened to help a
Kyrghyzstan 40 60
patient who collapsed on the airport and Maldives 1200 2000 ADVANTAGE INDIA
took him to Apollo, where he was paid Mauritius 290 230 All the stakeholders agree that India has
a commission by the hospital. Basu was Mozambique 130 180 immense potential due to a large number of
providing physicians on call to patients Myanmar 350 450 factors. A recent report by Patients Without
in Kolkata, when doctors prompted her Nigeria 2500 3500 Borders lists India as the top destination for
Oman 5500 8000
to facilitate foreign patients and hence medical savings vis a vis the US. Basu feels
Russian Federation 35 60
started her journey in 2013. It seems that the India advantage stems from the
Rwanda 180 300
both were addressing a need gap in a Saudi Arabia 400 600 highly qualified healthcare providers in the
market where there is a shortage of Sri Lanka 900 1200 country.
professionally managed companies. Sudan 1100 850 Kumar, while sharing his decade-long
Though a lot of medical tourism companies Tanzania 1300 1400 experience, feels that two major advantages
have mushroomed, a chunk of them are Tazikistan 150 300 work in the favour of India, Firstly the
Uganda 360 430
inexperienced and have no real background low cost of medical services has resulted
United Kingdom 70 250
in either healthcare or travel. in a rise in the countrys medical tourism,
United States Of 100 200
Both Basu and Kumar feel that the America attracting patients from across the world.
market is full of unethical agents and Uzbekistan 2000 3000 Moreover, India has emerged as a hub for
touts, who have ended up cheating unwary Zambia 170 220 R&D activities for international players due
patients and it is recommended that Zimbabwe 150 180 to its relatively low cost of clinical research.
*The figure is purely approximate collected from various medical travel
patients go through established companies, facilitators, Government data, and other sources through IIWMTA research Secondly, while the cost is significantly
who have a strong presence on social media and sample collection. lower, world-class service is available

21
ITB Special
at patients convenience with almost no
waiting time.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES AND
SUPPORT
The Government of India has been
extremely supportive of the sector and
has recently recognised Medical Tourism
as niche tourism and has also introduced
a Medical Visa to expedite travel of
international patients for treatment. A
national healthcare portal was established
in 2015 to provide authentic information
about healthcare professionals in India.
The Marketing Development Assistance
Scheme (MDA) from Ministry of Tourism
provides financial support to approved
tourism service providers. MoT also actively
promotes the sector at international
platforms such as World Travel Mart
London, ITB Berlin and others.
Shah adds to the list, The Indian
Healthcare Federation (IHF) has prepared a
guide featuring select Healthcare Service
Providers which they are promoting on the
Ministry of Tourism website. Organisations
like Services Export Promotion Council
(SPEC), Federation of Indian Export
Organisations (FIEO) and Federation (FICCI)
have taken special initiatives by supporting
and conducting many International Medical
Tourism Exhibitions and Conferences, he
informs. The government has been very
supportive, agrees Kapur and goes on to
say, Indian embassies overseas, are quite
prompt in servicing requests for visas to
medical tourists, barring a few. Kumar feels
that MDA assistance is good for promoting
India as a favoured medical tourism
destination over its closest rival Dubai
Medical City, yet much more needs to be
done if India wants to remain as a favoured
Medical Value Travel destination of choice.
CHALLENGES AND ROADBLOCKS
Even though the sector is fast emerging
and has excellent players, it is facing
challenges akin to any emerging sector.
When asked about the challenges they are
facing, Kapur shares, The rules around
Medical visas need to be relaxed. Shah
feels that multiple entry visas were needed
for medical travellers to enable follow-up
checkups and procedures. Shah also feels
that the unethical practice of swapping
patients to other hospitals by unauthorised
translators needs to be checked. It should
be made mandatory that the patient should
22
get treated, or visit at least once, the
hospital from where they have received
visa invitation letters, insists Shah. Basu
feels that medical visa on arrival would be
a good initiative to avoid losing tourists
to countries like Thailand and Singapore
where there is lesser or no waiting period.
Basu also feels that as medical facilitators,
they often face resistance from patients.
Local presence is always preferable, so we
are looking for local partners across various
countries to support us. There also seems
to be a strong mindset against medical
care facilitators like us, and we often face
stiff resistance in other countries, where
they would rather speak directly to the
hospitals, she elaborates.
Shah strongly feels that India is not
living up to its full potential, One common
problem that I experienced after visiting
countries for Medical Tourism is the lack of
proper promotions by Health Care Providers
and Government agencies. Information
dissemination in potential countries
should be done at a faster pace. He says
that a panellist at the IMTD conference
in Ethopia was amazed at the quality of
healthcare facilities provided by India. She
further commented that majority of the
patients travel to Thailand even though it
is expensive. Indian hospitals are late here,
you should have come much earlier at this
event, informs Shah.
WHAT IS NEEDED
Kumar opines, The Government of India
should play a larger role by acting both
as a regulator and as a facilitator. As a
regulator, the government should institute
a uniform grading and accreditation system
for healthcare service providers to build
International patients trust, whereas as
a facilitator, it should encourage private
investment in medical infrastructure. The
government also needs to reduce rates,
taxes and duties pertaining to medical
equipment and services, reduce instabilities
and enhance security measures.
Kumar shares a number of suggestions to
boost the sector, We want the government
to institute exclusive medical tourism
fairs in source countries on same models
as Indian Leisure Tourism Fairs and road
shows that are periodically carried by MoT.
A uniform pricing model and MediCity
Hub on models like Dubai Medical Hub or
Singapore MediHub need s to be created.
Medical Tourism should be included in the
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MSME sector and grants should be provided
to serious players such as a handful and
us others who have proven capability to
promote Medical Tourism to India.
He further suggests that the government
should invest in training and development
of doctors, nurses and other paramedical
staffs tailoring to needs of International
patients, invest in the accommodation
sector, reduce bureaucratic roadblocks,
encourage the development and availability
of good language translators and adopt
a customer-oriented approach in the
promotion of medical tourism.
Kapur feels that government resources
overseas should be optimally used to
promote the sector, More initiatives are
required from the health and tourism
ministries to help reach out to their
counterpart government bodies across the
target markets.
He elaborates, Government bodies also
need to market India as a safer destination
to enhance perceptions. Indian embassies
overseas can be vital in promoting the
numerous high-quality healthcare options
and the state of the art hospitals available
in India.
Shah feels visibility and customer
satisfaction are the keys to success. More
events and promotions with due assistance
should be organised with a frequency of at
least one big event per month. Streamlining
and competitive pricing policies are equally
important, pricing along with the quality of
healthcare is an important decisive factor
and hence, should be regularised, suggests
Shah. He further adds, The promotion
of Medical Tourism requires the adoption
of a customer oriented approach. The
approach should be shifted from customer
satisfaction to customer delight.
EDITOR SPEAKS
While the sector is growing Medical Tourism
or Medical Value Travel is still a long way
from its full potential. The country needs an
intensive plan, a well-defined roadmap both
for long-term and short-term promotion,
as well as a strategy that is backed by
10:30:39 AM
budgetary support.
Excellent initiatives have been taken,
the need is for more bodies involving all
stakeholders, government and private players
2/23/2017
to come together jointly to promote this sector.
A customised approach while offering
services and price points to target markets
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also might be a strategy worth looking at.
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