Indian Merchants’ Chamber’s (IMC) first Medical Tourism Conclave highlighted the opportunities, challenges and roadmap to develop medical tourism in Maharashtra and across the country. By Mohit Rathod
Maharashtra is looking at developing the medical tourism segment in the state. At the recent Medical Tourism Conclave organised by Indian Merchants’ Chamber, Valsa Nair Singh, principal secretary of tourism and culture, Government of Maharashtra, indicated the state goverment and its tourism arm, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation’s (MTDC) plan to attract investments in the sector and develop relevant infrastructure. IMC will play a significant role in developing the medical tourism sector, in co-ordination with the state government and MTDC. In line with Maharashtra Tourism Policy 2016, MTDC will work on reviving the now defunct Medical Tourism Council, to ensure efficiency in this space.
In her address, Singh said, “Medical tourism is one of the key focus areas for us. Singapore, India and Thailand account for 60 per cent of medical tourism in Asia. About 2,30,000 foreign patients travel to India for healthcare tourism every year. We have the second largest accredited healthcare facilities in the world. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are among the top medical tourism destinations in India,” while highlighting that Maharashtra has a robust private sector environment.
Singh acknowledged the current hindrances on both, state and national level, which should be eliminated. Absence of a single government agency to represent Indian medical tourism industry, lack of end-to-end services, differential pricing, absence of seamless services, low investment in public healthcare infrastructure and lack of marketing and promotions have been identified as some of the challenges facing the government.
However, the central government has some dedicated mechanisms already in place. These include introduction of Medical Visa (M Visa) and no-hindrance clearance at airports for travellers arriving for healthcare purposes. As part of the Maharashta government and MTDC’s roadmap for development of medical and healthcare tourism, Singh revealed plans to leverage upon MICE travel from pharma and healthcare industries to the state, which holds potential to attract private sector investments and develop infrastructure.
This was the first time, IMC organised a conclave on medical tourism. The trade body now plans to hold it every year. Deepak Premnarayan, president, IMC, commented, “This vertical is very important for our country and PM Modi has also given thrust to this area. A lot of people are coming to India for treatments, due to state-of-the-art facilities and cost-efficiency, which provides a bigger opportunity for us to grow this space.”
The conclave saw participation of representatives of travel and tourism, hospitality and medical and healthcare services industries. Two panel discussions were also organised to shed light on co – ordination among the medical, healthcare, tourism and hospitality sectors. The first discussion on specialists’ perspective on medical tourism, was partcipated by Dr S Natarajan, CMD, Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital; Dr Darius Soonawala, orthopaedic and joint replacement surgeon, Jaslok Hospital; Dr Vinay Jacob, cosmetologist, Bombay Hospital; Dr Kirti Punamiya, cardiologist, Breach Candy; and Dr Nikhil Parchure, cardiologist, Apollo Hospital, who shared insights and potential of their respective areas of specialisation towards medical tourism. Dr Natarajan opined, “There is a potential for tour operators and travel agents in this segment, but many of them are not putting serious efforts. It is essential to have partnerships with the travel industry.”
Whereas, the panel discussion on medical tourism’s opportunities and challenges, had Rajiv Duggal, CEO, Lavasa Hospitality; Devendra Bharma, EVP, Oberoi Hotels, Mumbai; Hidayat Khan, CMD, Human Care Air Ambulance; Parag Rindani, associate vice president and head, Wockhardt Hospital; Dr Raj Bhojwani; and Essa Ahmad, VP – India and Nepal, Emirates on the panel. Duggal expressed, “There is a need to have a regulatory body, which will ensure that only the accerdited operators work in the medical tourism sector. All hospitals must also have their own partner hotels and tour opearators.”
Sharing the hospitality industry’s perspective, Devendra Bharma, EVP, Oberoi Hotels, Mumbai, added, “The medical tourism segment is fragmented in India. As a hotel, it is difficult for us to keep a track of guests who come for medical and healthcare purposes. We work closely with Saifee Hospital, Breach Candy and Bombay Hospital, wherein we offer preferred rates to them. However, there can be a more formalised system between hotels and hospitals.”
