Issues, Prospects, Opportunities and Challenges of Health Tourism in India

Abstract

Generally, people living in one country, if travel to another country or another region of the same country, for the purpose of getting medical care including surgery, which is not available in their own country or region otherwise, is termed as Medical Tourism or Health Tourism. For this purpose generally people travel from under developed countries to highly developed countries in absence of the facilities in their own country or when getting cheaper and better options in alternative countries. Its popularity is growing fast across the globe, focusing primarily and predominantly on biomedical reasons, combined witourism, if possible. Most of the medical tourists belong to Asian countries, annterestingly these tourists are visiting also to asian countries, whose number increasing very fast every year. In this field mainly four asian countries India, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are leading and these are promoting anopularizing medical tourism aggressively. India has great Prospects in the field of Medical Tourism by virtue of its corompetence developed in cardiovascular surgery and organ transplant/surgertc, along with low cost option and great reputation. Apart from generatinmployment opportunities, it will also increase our foreign exchange and causocio-economic development, strengthening our country’s economy. Aparrom the treatment by allopathic system, other Indian systems of medicines, i.e. Ayurveda, Yoga, Panchakarma, Rejuvenation Therapy and Naturopathtc. also have gained great popularity in recent past. The Govt also has takeeveral initiatives through Ministry of Tourism to promote India as a Medicand Health Tourism Destination. Special provisions have been made for thoreign visitors coming to India for their treatment, issuing them a neategory of visa "Medical Visa" for the purpose. Apart from the Government initiatives, most of the private hospitals are alsnvesting heavily, giving a facelift to their medical facilities, realizing thotential for Medical Tourism in India, in order to make them visible to nonly to local elite but also to overseas clients. This paper reviews some kessues, prospects, opportunities, challenges and some other relevant aspects of Medical Tourism with respect to India.