Travelling to India is a pleasurable and immersive experience. It offers culture, delectable cuisine and distinct weather. A trip to India can enlighten and rejuvenate you. However, of late, people have been travelling to India for a whole different reason. They are travelling to obtain better medical treatment, referred to as medical tourism. Certainly, healthcare has been drawing visitors to India in great numbers.
Cut to Adam’s story
Born in the Maldives, moved to the United States for further studies and now working with MNCs there, I considered myself a millennial. However, when my mother fell ill and had to be taken to India for medical attention, it harrowed me. Surely I wanted to give her the best treatment, but the fear that struck me was nothing like I had experienced before.
Suddenly, mortality was glaring me in the face, and I reached out to people for information to make the apt choice for my mother. A doctor friend came to the rescue. It was instrumental in helping me getting access to the best treatment options for her. As a result, my mother got cured and is healthy now. I was really surprised to see the advanced medical facilities in India.
Today we see that a lot many people coming to India to ensure world-class healthcare for their family and self. The Bureau of Immigration stats from 2018, shows that most of the medical tourists visit from Maldives, Oman, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen. In 2015, India was ranked as the third most popular destination for medical tourism. Over 2.34 lac foreign tourists visited India on the medical visa. By 2017, the figure doubled to 4.95 lac. If the Ministry of Tourism’s figures is to be trusted, India’s medical tourism industry is set to grow by 200% by the end of this year, thereby hitting a $9 billion mark.
India as a Preferred Medical Tourism Destination
Medical tourism in India is now a billion-dollar industry. Patients are travelling here for various reasons.
- The treatment is not available in their own country. Therefore, India is witnessing an inflow of patients from Bangladesh and the Gulf.
- India offers treatment to patients from the USA at a cost about 10 times lesser than their country. That is a big saving for them
- Patients from the United Kingdom and Canada faces huge waiting period. They can get immediate appointments at a low cost. Therefore they are visiting India for better treatment.
- Most importantly, dental, eye and cosmetic surgeries cost almost four times lesser in India as compared to western countries.
Above all, India offers high-quality services by skilled and English-speaking medical experts. Therefore it is not only convenient to avail healthcare facilities from here but they are cost-effective too.
Furthermore, to encourage more people to come to India for better healthcare, the government of India has been taking various steps, including:
- building state-of-the-art medical and nursing facilities
- boosting age-old practices such as yoga and Ayurveda
- offering international standard medical care at low costs
- hiring reputed professionals
Most importantly, India is also relaxing the visa rules for people seeking medical help. Under this,
- the option of medical visits included in the e-tourist visa system
- visa facility for medical attendants introduced to smoothen the experience of medical tourists
- duration of stay under the e-medical visa increased to six months
In addition, India is constantly bettering the medical facilities and easing the procedures involved in travel. That’s because health is a complicated matter and people tend to make decisions based on their opinion of healthcare facilities, culture and nearness to their country.
List of Medical Tourism Companies in India
As a result, with the growth in the medical tourism industry, several companies have come up and offer package deals. The services they offer comprise assistance with visa, help in finalising the best option at the best rates. At the same time, these companies also arrange for transfers and hotels. However, looking through the treatment process is their main focus. Some of the companies are as follows:
| Name of the Company | Location | Founders | Year of Establishment | Funding | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClinicSpots | Mumbai | Pankaj Srivastava | 2015 | IPO- Private | Not applicable |
| Vaidam | Gurgaon | Pankaj Chandna Manish Chandra | 2016 | Information not disclosed | 4CE Ventures |
| Lyfboat | New Delhi | Anuj Gupta Mitika Gupta | 2015 | No funding round | Not applicable |
| Medmonks | New Delhi | Dr Gautam Sethi Dr Shubesh Tyagi Dr Priyank Tyagi | 2015 | $100,000 | Nuberg Engineering Limited |
Future Scope
In other words, medical tourism in India can have a greater impact if healthcare providers choose to invest in active social media profiles. Similarly, they need to have well-maintained websites and informative blogs. In addition, collaborating with travel agencies and hospitality service providers to offer a comfortable experience to international tourists would also push healthcare tourism in a positive direction. Tailored financing solutions can also be provided to help medical tourists meet treatment costs. Consequently, all these combined can help grow the medical tourism industry in India.
On 10th December 2019 the first edition of Thrive Haryana’2019 was organized at The Leela, Gurugram by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in association with the Government of Haryana. The first edition of Thrive was an initiative expected to be the biggest Haryana Tech-Start-up event. The event was organized for the thought-leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, academicians, from the start-up ecosystem who promised to share their vision on how they see the world evolving aided by the impact of Indian start-ups across the world.
