From Indian metro cities like Delhi-New Capital region (NCR) to non metro cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, stakeholders of the industry in the country are benefiting from the growth of medical tourism.
India’s inbound medical tourism source markets include neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Afghanistan and also long haul markets like the US and the UK. Medical tourism in India witnessed an exponential growth of 111 per cent in three years from 2015 to 2017. According to information provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 4.95 lakh foreign tourists visited India for medical purposes in 2017, a significant uptick from 2.33 lakh in 2015. In 2016, a total of 4.27 lakh foreign tourists visited India for medical purposes.
“Delhi-NCR is among top 5 popular medical tourism destinations in India as the region has a vast number of world-class private and government hospitals. Our source markets for inbound medical tourism are UK, the US, Africa and Middle East. We have collaborated with hospitals in our close proximity like AIIMS and Safdarjung hospital to tap international medical tourism clients,” said a New Delhi based hotelier.
Gone are the days when Indians would travel the world in search of advanced remedies for their ailments. In fact, it is the other way around these days. The world is coming to India. India has become the hottest stop on the medical tourism landscape.
And why is it so, you rightfully ask? Well, not only to make use of the affordable, world-class healthcare facilities available in the country, but also to benefit greatly from aspects such as yoga and Ayurveda, two disciplines native to India. India is no longer a cost saving destination, but a destination of choice for those seeking treatment.
The exotic nature of India is an additional draw for many of these tourists. Many travellers club their medical journey with the spiritual experience that is synonymous with India. They are enriched not merely by visiting landmarks and landscapes that they have only heard descriptions of, but also because India is making quick strides when it comes to healthcare.
Today, it is estimated that more than half a million visitors come to India every year for treatment. From cardiology to eye care to hip replacements, patients can avail world class healthcare across different medical disciplines. One of these sectors is hair transplant and treatment. Hair transplant is quickly becoming a sought after reason to visit India.
According to Dr. Vinod Sonawane, MD- Hair Transplant Surgeon, PG Diploma in Trichology & Managing Director at Bloom Hair Transplant, the future is one filled with promise and much potential. “More and more residents living in Europe and North America are discovering the benefits of healthcare in India,” he said. “The hair transplant sector has picked up as well. The number of patients I treat in this branch is growing exponentially every year.”
Indeed, this medical tourism boom, and, in particular, the heightened interest in hair transplants, is based on the fact that India now offers specialised healthcare, leading edge treatment and also fabulous post-operative care, at par with any other part of the world. There has been a conscious effort in making India a tourism destination of choice, by enhancing the facilities and amenities that constitute its healthcare and also, by training professionals involved in the same.
Travellers must remember to carry out comprehensive research and analysis before they decide to undergo any treatment in India. It’s always ideal to find out the track record of the medical practitioners before travelling half way across the world. As with any industry around the world, not every institution may be as adept in hair transplant as others.
In India’s case, medical tourism will be a great source of revenue in the months and years that follow. Medical procedures like stem cell transplant in India are said to be 65-90 percent cheaper compared to cost of same procedures in markets like the US. “Cities like Gurgaon in Delhi NCR region are popular among international medical tourists especially from The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region and Africa,” said Ravi Gosain, Managing Director, Erco Travels. Africa, CIS and Gulf countries, Europe and North America are also adding to the numbers of medical tourists in India.
According to a section of tour operators Indian traditional medical treatments like Ayurvedic, Unani and Naturopathy also offers the country an edge over the competition.
“India is indeed coming of age, and not just as a potential medical tourism destination, but equally for alternative remedies like Ayurveda, Yunani, yoga and meditation- in the form of specific wellness programmes, as well as in combination to conventional domestic vacations. While this segment was predominantly seen as an inbound driver, the domestic market is seeing a significant demand also,” said a Mumbai based tour operator. Resorts in Kerala offer Ayurvedic packages ranging from 7, 14 to 21 days that include sessions of ‘Yoga’, ‘Shirodhara’, ‘Abhayangam’ and a specialized diet for detoxifying the system.
As per a report by industry body the Confederation of Indian industry (CII) and consultancy firm Grant Thornton, India’s medical tourism which is currently pegged at $3 billion is expected to grow over $8 billion by 2020.
On its part the Indian government constituted a National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board in the second half of 2015, to address the challenges of the segment. It also expanded the scope of e-tourist visa facility to include short-term medical treatments. This means that medical tourists from 150 countries can send online applications for medical visas.
Seizing the opportunity, the Ministry of Tourism has also taken various steps to boost medical tourism in the country, including expanding the scope of e-visas for medical visits. The government launched e-tourist visas in 2014 to ease the visa regime in the country, following which Medical and Medical Attendant Visa was introduced for medical tourists.
Additionally, under the Incredible India campaign, the ministry launched multiple campaigns for the international markets. Additionally, road shows and ‘Know India Seminars’ were also conducted to spread awareness.
Moreover, brochures, CDs, films and other publicity materials were used by the ministry along with its social media promotions across multiple platforms. The Department of Commerce and Services Export Promotion Council also launched a healthcare portal that provides comprehensive information to foreign travellers about the top healthcare institutions in the country in various languages.
Not only visitors, the government has formulated guidelines for medical tourism stakeholders in the country. In the statement, the tourism ministry said that was developing and promoting Wellness and Medical Tourism as a niche product.
The ministry said that it is offering 50:50 financial assistance to parties to up to Rs 10 lakh for participating in fairs and events approved by the tourism ministry in overseas markets under the Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) scheme. The ministry also offers financial assistance of up to Rs 25 lakh for stakeholders participating in tourism promotion shows. It additionally also offers financial support for training courses on skill providing, skill upgradation and skill certification for individuals engaged in Wellness and Medical Tourism.
“Medical tourism offers huge opportunities to tour operators as recovery time of a patient after a medical procedure can be utilized in exploring the destination. The government is showing interest to grow this segment which should benefit all the stakeholders,” said another tour operator.
“We are targeting mostly Europe and North America for customers who are looking for cosmetic surgeries and wellness treatments. At this moment this is not a huge market for India but it is growing,” said Gosain.
Industry Speaks:
Col. S.S. Minhas, General Manager, Pema Wellness Resort
India has tremendous medical skills at a very reasonable price range, this needs to be leveraged in the internal arena. Our ancient medical wisdom, which has recently been projected little bit by AYUSH, needs much more support from the Government before it becomes one of the self-sustaining great attraction for tourists bound towards India. Based on my experience at Pema Wellness at Vizag, I can definitely vouch for bright future of naturopathy. Even if we advocate removing/lowering of taxes of such institutes by the Government, the other indirect impetus it gives to growth including the health benefit to public is no small achievement. Domestic tourism is to a large extent is religious based. The quality of living accommodation, transport and eating facilities can definitely be helped by local governance through minimal taxation and other reforms, which by itself becomes great source of quality and thus income in long run.
Dr A.M Anvar, Chairman & Managing Director, Punarnava Ayurveda Hospital in Cochin, Kerala
Medical tourism inflow to India is increasing year-by-year. Good doctors, quality medicines and cost effective but authentic treatments are some of the reasons for this growth. Another major reason for this growth is nothing but Ayurveda. Lots of people are attracted towards this ancient science of life, for its curative as well as preventive attributes.
Even today Ayurveda is presented to the external world as a method for wellness. But in my opinion Ayurveda is more scientific than any other contemporary medical sciences. We have understood and utilized only a small percentage of the depth and width of this science. We have to focus more on the research field so as to unearth the hidden boons of Ayurveda.