In the past 10 years, India has developed a reputation for providing high-quality care at affordable costs to medical tourists from all over the world. It is currently one of the things drawing people from all over the world to seek health care and wellbeing. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic's travel restrictions, the number of medical tourists has dropped. According to the Tourism Ministry, India had a drop between 2010 and 2020 of 79.4%. Market analysis predicts that in 2022, demand will rise at a robust 19% compound annual growth rate.
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, health and medical value travel have resumed in India, showcasing the top-notch capabilities of the nations' health and medical infrastructure, gifted doctors, and accessibility to top-tier medical institutes due to favourable exchange rates. The nation is a well-liked option for medical value tourism due to its affordability and availability of a skilled personnel. It may increase more quickly than domestic revenues in the current year due to the high amount of elective treatments in this market and the potential for strong demand. View More: Best Forex Indicators 2023
The main medical specialties for which patients travel abroad for treatment are cosmetic surgery, cardiology/cardiac surgery, orthopaedics, bariatric surgery, fertility treatments, organ transplantation, dentistry, and diagnostics. An estimated 1.40 crore people travel abroad for better medical care each year. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 697,453 medical tourists visited India for medical treatment in 2019 alone, and by 2023, India will have 6% of the global market share for medical value tourism, according to data from the Indian Institute of Public Administration. It is projected that their numbers would rapidly rise in the following years.
The following factors suggest that medical tourism will rise in the next years:
- The Indian medical tourism industry, currently valued at $6 billion, is expected to increase to $13 billion by 2026.
- The medical sector is projected to grow at a CAGR of 21.1% between 2020 and 2027.
- Compared to between $40,000 and $60,000 in the United States, a heart procedure costs between $3,000 and $6,000 in India.
- The value of medical travel in the organised tertiary and quaternary sector may rise from 12 to 15%.
India has the ability to attract patients from wealthier nations in addition to its main source regions in West Asia and Africa and its surrounding regions. The country has the rare distinction of providing access to all super-specialties, including organ transplantation, which is largely responsible for this. India has highly qualified doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, and its state-of-the-art facilities are on par with the best in the world. Since many doctors completed their medical education abroad, communication problems with patients from different nations are rarely caused by a language barrier. India provides top-notch diagnostic and imaging services at prices that are between tenths and fifteenths of what they would cost in the USA.
JCI accreditation, which ensures high standards of quality, safety, and compliance with international norms, is held by more than 35 hospitals nationwide. India has a significant possibility to surpass the United States as the most popular overseas location for medical tourism within the next few years due to the value it offers in terms of qualified medical personnel, first-rate facilities, and superior results.
If the nation intends to become the top destination for medical tourism, significant investments must be made to make the healthcare industry appealing to international patients. Another opportunity that has to be taken advantage of is the sale of Indian health insurance to foreigners, which has the potential to increase India's patient intake by $9 billion. The common locations chosen by incoming medical tourists are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. Reports state that Chennai receives approximately 15% of the inbound overseas patients, whereas Kerala handles only 5-7%.
The launch of "Heal in India" is an improvement that will benefit the medical tourism sector. This initiative is consistent with our common objective of providing high-quality patient care and serves as an excellent example of how public-private partnerships could improve the provision of healthcare in India.
India has positioned itself as the fifth-largest worldwide destination for medical value travel, with a market size estimated to be over $9 billion in 2019. However, encouragement and new initiatives that support the medical tourism sector will go a long way in helping it recover after the COVID-19 epidemic.
We fully believe that the nation has a huge potential to overtake other countries in the globe in terms of medical tourism over the next few years because of the value proposition of competent doctors, first-rate infrastructure, and high-quality outcomes. Thanks to the Indian government's "Heal in India" campaign, the medical tourism industry has fully recovered and is surely positioned for historic growth.
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