Medical and Wellness Tourism

WHY IN NEWS:

• Ministry of Tourism has formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism in order to boost Medical Tourism in the country.

MEDICAL AND WELLNESS TOURISM:

• Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term used to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to seek healthcare services.
  • Medical tourism is now often referred to as Medical Value Travel(MVT) it captures patients’ healthcare-seeking behaviour as well as the wider economic impact of such travel on nations hosting them.
• Global Wellness Institute has defined wellness tourism as “travel associated with the goal of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal well-being and includes the pursuit of physical, mental, spiritual or environmental ‘wellness’ while traveling for either leisure or business.”
  • Primary wellness traveller:
    • A traveller whose trip or destination choice is primarily motivated by wellness.
  • Secondary wellness traveller:
    • A traveller who seeks to maintain wellness while traveling or who participates in wellness experiences while taking any type of trip for leisure or business.

STATISTICS:

• India is ranked 10th out of 46 destinations globally by the Medical Tourism Association in the 2020-21 Medical Tourism Index (MTI) and 12th in the top 20 wellness tourism markets globally, and in Asia-Pacific (APAC) it ranks 5th in the tourism market.
• As per reports, the Indian economy could add USD 9 billion by 2026 through the use of traditional medicine, wellness, Ayurvedic therapy, yoga and wellness, combined with exercise focuses on the curative aspects of healthcare.
• India currently has around 18% of the global medical tourism market.
• Traditionally patients from neighbouring countries in SAARC region have always been coming to India and in 1980s patients from Middle East frequented hospitals in Mumbai, but the large inflow of patients from Africa and even the developed world like Europe, Canada, UK and USA has picked up only in the last decade.

• Bangladesh accounts for the highest number of medical tourists. One in three foreign patients in Indian hospitals were from Bangladesh
• The leading destinations of medical tourism in the country are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, New Delhi, Kerala
• Despite the Covid-19 travel restrictions, India had almost 2 lakhs, inbound tourists for medical reasons in 2020.

POTENTIAL FOR INDIA:

• Human resource:
  • Highly skilled Indian physicians and surgeons and quality nursing care.
• Language:
  • India has the highest percentage of English language speaking people.
  • If other language options are essential, there are expert interpreters who will be arranged by the hospitals, all leading to reassuring hospitality and great after care.
• AYUSH:
  • India has a unique advantage of offering Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy and other traditional systems (AYUSH) of medicine for the treatment of various ailments and enhancing the well-being to the medical value traveller.
  • With the recent focus of the Government, India has built tremendous capacity in AYUSH.
• Low cost:
  • The cost of treatment is a fraction of the cost in the western countries.
  • For instance, complex surgical procedures are done in a world-class global hospital by acclaimed medical specialists at a much lower cost than what it normally takes in other countries.
• High capacity:
  • Presence of world class hospitals with the latest technologies and top-of the-line medical and diagnostic equipment from global international conglomerates.
• Zero waiting time:
  • Zero waiting time in India for any procedure, be it heart surgery, kidney care, cancer treatment weight loss surgery etc.
• Accreditation of hospitals:
  • India has a good number of JCI (Joint Commission International) accredited hospitals and compares well with other countries in Asia.
  • In addition, there are a large number of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) accredited hospitals. These set of approved hospitals in India provides care at par or above global standards.
• Diversity of tourism products and experiences:
  • India offers a range of tourism opportunities to Medical Value Traveller to combine the treatment with a visit to tourist destinations.

BENEFITS FOR INDIA:

• Foreign Exchange Earnings:
  • According to Indian Medical Travel Association (IMTA), while an average holiday tourist may spend US $ 2000 on his trip to India – a medical tourist spends much higher at an average US $ 5000.
• Jobs:
  • Create a large number of new jobs in the healthcare and wellness sector.
• Aatmanirbhar Bharat:
  • The Government of India recognizes medical value travel and wellness tourism as important sectors having the potential of accelerating the country’s development and attaining the objective of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
• Start Up India:
  • With many new Start Up's like Practo, Portea, Advancells, Lybrate etc. emerging in the field of health sector, Medical tourism can boost the number of start-ups in India.
• Improves health sector:
  • Medical and wellness tourism promotes technology and knowledge transfer, improved efficiency in patient care process
• Increases private investment in R&D:
  • Contributes to the development of innovative solutions to health care problems
• Increases India’s trade potential:
  • Medical and wellness tourism can built a brand image for India which helps in improving international trade
• Improved international relations:
  • Medical tourism promotes increased people to people contact and social and cross cultural experience and international customer relations

CHALLENGES:

• Low coordination:
  • Low coordination between various players in the industry– airline operators, hotels and hospitals.
• Competitions:
  • Strong competitions from other developing destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Mexico.
• Stringent surrogacy laws
  • This has deterred single parents and same sex couples from choosing India.
• Pricing:
  • Lack of uniform pricing policies across hospitals.
• Insurance:
  • Unavailability of Medical Insurance Portability and non-coverage of traditional systems of medicine under insurance policies at the international level impacts the choice of India as medical and wellness tourism destination.
• Perception of international community:
  • While India is a popular country for tourists but there is a perception about India not being a very hygienic country. This impacts the choice of India as MVT destination.
• Low investments
  • India’s investment in health infrastructure stood minimal
• Influence of middle man:
  • Middle men with little or no knowledge and training to manage patient are playing havoc.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES:

• India’s National Health Policy
  • It declares that treatment of foreign patients is legally an “export” and deemed “eligible for all fiscal incentives extended to export earnings”, thus acting as a stimulus.
• Benefits under Market Development Assistance Scheme (MDA):
  • Medical tourism service providers (including representatives of hospitals accredited by JCI and NABH, and medical tourism facilitators i.e. travel agents/tour operators), who are approved by the Ministry of Tourism, receive fiscal support under the Market Development Assistance Scheme (MDA)
• Separate category of visa:
  • In order to attract a large quantum of medical tourists, the government has introduced a separate category of medical visa: M-visa. A no-hindrance-clearance has been provided for medical tourists at the airports.
• E-tourist visas:
  • The scope of e-tourist visa has been expanded to include short- term medical treatment.
• Integrated approach:
  • The proposed policy to promote integrated treatment with allopathy, ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (AYUSH) streams is expected to provide a fillip to the sector.
• Improving the quality of services:
  • For the accreditation of hospitals, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has set up a National Accreditation Board for Hospitals, under the Ministry of Commerce.
• E-governance support:
  • The Union commerce ministry’s portal “indiahealthcaretourism.com”, in three languages – Arabic, Russian and French— to provide comprehensive information to medical travellers.
• Tourism circuits:
  • The new government’s manifesto includes plans to build 50 tourism circuits, along with a medical circuit connecting hubs of modern medicine and Ayurveda.

WAY FORWARD:

• Develop a brand for India as a medical and wellness destination:
  • India is currently promoted as a destination under the umbrella of “Incredible India”. Individual hospitals are also marketing themselves in the source market but there is no campaign for the country as a destination for medical and wellness tourism.
  • In order to grow India as a destination for medical and wellness tourism, there is an urgent need to highlight the wellness offerings of the Country for all visitors as well as medical tourism offerings for patients seeking such services.
• Attracting diaspora:
  • India has one of the largest Diaspora and they need to be targeted for visiting the country to meet their medical and tourism needs.
• Enhanced budgetary allocation: 
  • Enhanced budgetary allocation for building medical infrastructure is the need of the hour.
• Strengthening the ecosystem:
  • The Ecosystem for medical and wellness tourism includes a host of service providers, facilitators, commercial agencies such as hotels and airlines, regulatory agencies and the Government.
  • There is a need to establish linkages and understanding amongst the stakeholders about the role and responsibilities of different stakeholders and forge partnerships for promoting the sector.
• Special wellness tourism zone:
  • Many countries have developed townships and cities focussing on nature, health and wellness.
  • Developing special tourism zones having world-class facilities and wellness offerings will provide a competitive edge.
  • States should be encouraged to develop such special wellness tourism zones and the Central Government should provide necessary assistance for infrastructure development. Suitable Public-Private Partnership models need to be encouraged.
• Robust visa regime:
  • Medical Visa Scheme and the immigration process which is cumbersome and inconvenient to patients coming to India for treatment, needs to be streamlined for this category of travellers.
• Better air connectivity:
  • In many cases, especially for tourists from Africa and the Middle East, there is no direct air connectivity. Patients must break their journey at some Middle East airports which is tiring and could be uncomfortable for patients.
  • Hence, better air connectivity to these areas will make India a more attractive destination for medical value travel.
• Accreditation:
  • To provide for brighter prospects for the industry, the hospitals can also acquire international accreditation, integrate traditional and clinical treatments and offer end-to-end value added services
• Formalisation:
  • Prepare a list of all our wellness centres and Ayush Hospitals so that we can properly publicise them.
• Focus on North-East region:
  • North-East region is endowed with many natural attractions, and medical and wellness tourism can provide a driver for the economic growth of the region.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Examine the factors that have made India a popular hub of medical and wellness tourism? Also suggest measures to improve India’s potential in this sector?