An introduction to the concept of Medical Tourism with an emphasis on India

1. Introduction to
Medical Tourism

2. Tourism
Tourism comprises of activities of person(s)
travelling to and staying in places outside their
usual environment for leisure, business and
other purpose.

3. Tourist
Tourist are people who travel to and stay in places outside
their usual environment for not more than one
consecutive year for leisure, business or other purpose not
related to the exercise of any activity remunerated from
within the place of visit.
- World Tourism

4. Types of Tourist
(based on location)
1.Domestic Tourist
2.Inbound Tourist
3.Outbound Tourist

5. Types of Tourist
(based on activity)
1.Leisure Tourist
2.Honeymoon Tourist
3.Backpack Tourist
4.Solo Tourist
5.Fully Independent Tourist (FIT)
6. Adventure Tourist

6. Medical Tourism
Definition 1
Medical tourism is a term involving people who travel to
a different place to receive treatment for a disease or
ailment and who are seeking lower cost care , higher
quality of care , better access to care or different care
than they could receive at home.
Global Spa Summit 2011

7. Medical Tourism
Definition 2
Medical Tourism is an attempt to attract tourist by
deliberately promoting its health care service and facilities, in
addition to its regular tourist amenities
Goodrich (1987)

8. Medical Tourism
Definition 3
Medical tourism is the second mode of health service. In this mode
customers (patients) leave their home country to obtain health care
services with high quality and affordable price.
General Agreement of Trade and Service (GATS)

9. Why Medical Tourism
• Most of the medical tourist comes from industrial and developed
countries like UK & countries of western Europe, USA, Canada,
Australia, Japan, etc. where cost of medical treatment is very
expensive and there are long waiting lines
• Apart from India other developing countries like Thailand, Malaysia,
Singapore, Brazil, Cuba, Costa Rica are now promoting medical
tourism

10. Why Medical Tourism
(contd…)
• Medical Tourism is a mix of two fastest growing industries in the
world, namely health care and tourism. So it is one of the fastest
growing multi billion dollar industry in the world.
• Medical tourism is becoming popular all over the world. It combines
health care with tourism

11. Reasons for Medical Tourism
1.Cost Effectiveness
2.Availability of service
3.Expertise
4.Less waiting time

12. Medical Tourism
(Salient Features)
• Health care and tourism industry are the fastest growing
industries in the world. Medical tourism is a fusion of the two.
• Medical tourism potential across the globe and numerous
possibilities still remains unexplored.

13. Medical Tourism in India

14. Why India
???

15. India
???
Low Cost
Rich
Cultural
Heritage
Personalized
Service
World
Class
Quality
Less
Waiting
Time

16. 1.State of art facility
2.Latest technology
3.Finest Doctors
4.Financial savings
5.Fast Track (Zero waiting time)
6.Feeling the pulse

17. Types of Medical Tourism in India
Medical Tourism
Wellness Alternative Cosmetic Lifesaving

18. Wellness Alternative Cosmetic Life Saving
Service Spa, Stress
relief and
rejuvenation
centres
Yoga and
ayurveda
Dental, skin
treatment,
plastic and
cosmetic
surgery
Major
operations
Profit Low Low Medium High
Competitors Thailand,
South Africa
None Thailand,
Cuba and
South Africa
Thailand,
Jordan and
Singapore
Strength Low (Thailand
is major
competitor)
High (Kerala is
the major
strength)
Low (Thailand
is major
competitor)
High

19. Procedure US India Thailand Singapore
Heart Bypass 1,30,000 10,000 11,000 18,500
Heart valve
replacement
1,60,000 9,000 10,000 12,500
Angioplasty 57,000 11,000 13,000 13,000
Hip
replacement
43,000 9,000 9,000 12,000
Knee
replacement
40,000 8,500 10,000 13,000
Spinal fusion 62,000 5,500 7,000 9,000
Comparative Study of cost of Medical Treatment
(all values are in US$)

20. A few facts about Medical Tourism in India
• Indian medical tourism industry is growing at 18%
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
• Estimated revenue from medical tourism in 2017 is
worth 9 billion rupees
• In 2017, India had 495,056 medical travelers
• India is projected to have 20% of the medical tourism
market share by 2020 (pre Covid 19 stats)

21. SWOT Analysis of Medical Tourism in India

22. Strength
• Quality service at affordable cost
• Qualified doctors and support staff
• Usage of English language
• Strong presence of advance health care
• Presence of alternative health care
• Vast diversity in tourism experience and destination

23. Weakness
• Lack of government support and initiative
• Low coordination between various players (airline, hotel and
hospital)
• No proper accreditation and regulation system in hospitals
• Lack of uniform pricing policy across hospitals
• Customer perception of India as an unhygienic country

24. Opportunity
• Increase demand for healthcare service from countries with
aging population (UK, USA)
• Fast lifestyle in west demands wellness and alternative tourism
• High expense of medical treatment in developed countries
• Demand from countries with underdeveloped health care
facilities (Bangladesh)
• Demand for retirement homes for elderly people

25. Threat
• Strong competition from nearby countries like
Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore
• Lack of international accreditation
• Lack of proper insurance coverage
• Low investment in health care

26. Conclusion
• Presently India is in a position to tap the opportunities of the
global tourism market. The government role is crucial in
developing medical tourism
• There is also need for developing supporting infrastructures like
international connectivity, transport and hotel service
• The tourism, health care and the information technology
department needs to work together to develop medical tourism in
India

27. Thank you