India’s medical tourism industry to grow exponentially: Official

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) India has gained popularity as a high quality medical care provider at affordable cost which can propel the country's medical tourism industry to grow exponentially, Rita Teaotia, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, said on Friday.

Speaking at an event here to announce the launch dates for Advantage Healthcare India 2017, Teaotia said that apart from providing quality medical and medicinal care to foreign nationals, ancient science like treatment based on Ayurveda should also be promoted and showcased to international medical tourists.

"I am happy to see that many Ayush companies and institutions are also participating in Advantage Healthcare India 2017 this year. I wish that even the finest hospitals also have Ayush facilities. The finest hospitals of India should also provide Ayurvedic treatment" Teaotia said.

The third international summit on medical value travel (medical tourism) is being jointly organised by Ficci, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Service Export Promotion Council (SEPC) will be held at Bengaluru from October 12-14, 2017.

Over 70 countries and 600 hosted buyers from Africa, Middle East, Europe, US, UK, and Asia (including Saarc) are expected to participate in the mega-event.

According to A.Didar Singh, Secretary General, Ficci the medical value travel can become a "$9 billion opportunity for India by 2020".

"To fully exploit this potential, the country needs to diversify its sources of medical tourism and create a strong value proposition for foreign patients by focusing on perimeters like cost effectiveness, alternate medicine, clinical outcomes, tourism friendliness, accreditation, and patient centricity," Singh said.

A recent Ficci-IMS report has pointed out that more than 500,000 foreign patients seek treatment in India each year, making it a key medical tourism destination in Asia.

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