EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES OF MEDICAL TOURISM IN INDIA

Medical Tourism is the concept of travelling to a particular destination to avail the opportunity of the world-class healthcare services offered by experienced Healthcare professionals at the technologically advanced medical facilities with complete privacy and within affordable costs. The Indian Government, respective State Tourism Boards, travel agents, tour operators, hotels and private / corporate sector healthcare providers / hospitals are exploring the medical tourism industry for tremendous opportunities. They are seeking to capitalize on the opportunities by combining the country's popular leisure tourism with medical tourism. Some of the factors that make India as one of the favorable destinations for medical tourism include low medical cost which is approximately onetenth of the costs in the western countries. The long waiting period to avail the medical facilities by foreign patients in most developing / developed countries is tremendously reduced by availing similar facilities in the Indian hospitals. Given the scenario, in this paper one addresses the question whether India can be the leader in providing Medical Tourism in the near future.