With cost effective and better facilities, Indian medical tourism is attracting the medical tourists for which improvement of infrastructure and transparency in the system is required.
Medical tourism is set to experience a dynamic transformation in India. A proposal is being worked out for a hospital with a capacity of 1000 beds close to the Indian capital to accommodate the visiting families. According to Ambika Soni, Minister of Tourism and Culture, three international associations have shown their interest in the proposal, reported NDTV Profit.
According to Soni, an overall funding of $6.5 Billion is likely to be channeled into this by the Indian medical tourism industry. At the inaugural ceremony of India Health Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the minister said that the proposal would shortly be carried to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Planning Commission. The minister said that sightseeing was also considered by the patients along with their families, who find the hotel accommodation expensive and such a step will definitely boost their influx.
The minister also remarked on the problems faced by medical tourism in India. She said that the lack of a single window authorization system in India is the biggest restraint for the foreign investors. She further told that the government is working towards making an easier system to encourage foreign investment in India.
Besides, the other deterring factor is the heavy legal implications in the Indian medical tourism industry in treating the foreign tourists. Another vital field of apprehension is the basic research where there is increased necessity to combine the different healthcare systems with the present ones to realize the vision of good health for all.
According to the industry experts, it is the time for the government to start investing in this sector (and stop relying on the private sector). They believe that growth in medical tourism requires improved medical infrastructure that can unlock new business opportunities for the stakeholders.
A Senior Research Analyst at RNCOS says “Lack of infrastructure represents the prime concern for the Indian healthcare industry. Considering the huge population of India, the biggest challenge is to provide good medical assistance to all. The standard of the Indian healthcare has shown immense maturity and is comparable with that of international standards. New methods and professionalism are part of this industry now. But the thing that remains to be done is the improvement in nursing capabilities and making the hospital management system transparent”.
Related Market Research Reports:
Asian Medical Tourism Analysis (2008-2012)
Indian Tourism Industry Analysis
China Tourism Industry Analysis (2007-2011)
