India – A Destination of Medical Tourism
The Embassy of India in Norway would like to inform that India has in recent years emerged as a major hub for medical tourism and now considered amongst the top 6 Medical value Travel Destinations in the world. Foreign tourist arrivals for medical purposes have jumped from 139,447 in 2014 to 4
95,056 in 2017. Reputed healthcare professionals and hospitals, English speaking healthcare workers, cutting edge global technology, personalized service, lower cost, lesser waiting time and rich cultural and leisure destinations in India make it a compelling destination for medical travel. It is estimated that the value of Medical tourism to India is likely to reach USD9 Billion by 2020 growing at an estimated 25% per annum.
In order to capitalize upon the opportunity, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has set up a National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board consisting of relevant stake holders from the industry and various government agencies. The Ministry has a result been working on the two fronts of improving the supply side dynamics and generating an increased demand for India as a destination.
Amongst the initiatives successfully implemented on the supply side are:
- E Visa is enabled for medical tourists in addition to the existing medical and medical attendant visas.
- Patients not required to personally register with the FRRO (Foreigner Regional Registration Offices).
- Facilitation counters set up at 3 international airports and 5 more are on the anvil.
- Accreditation by NABH introduced for a new category called Medical Value Travel Facilitators who would play the coordinating role similar to tour operators.
- Health care portal www.indiahealthcaretourism.com has been augmented with comprehensive information on the accredited healthcare intuitions in English, Arabic, Russia and French.
Among the promotional initiatives undertaken to strengthen demand are:
- Medical Tourism is being promoted on niche specialized media as part of the Incredible India campaign; the link is given below:
- Overseas offices of India Tourism are actively promoting medical tourism in the relevant trade fairs, road shows, promotional events, seminars etc.
- A promotional film on medical tourism has been launched and is used on television and online platforms for greater dissemination.
Some links are given below for information:
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