During a panel discussion at the Indian Chambers of Commerce’s (IMC) Wellness & Medical Value Tourism Conclave, which was held yesterday at the organization’s headquarters in Mumbai, the panellists were in agreement that India as a whole needed to work on “image building” on a global scale to close the gap and enable medical tourism to reach its full potential.
The medical tourism industry in our nation is underdeveloped, according to Ajay Prakash, President of the Travel Agents Federation of India. “Significant gaps exist between our ideal and reality. The administration must take a more comprehensive approach to address how India is seen around the world. Better coordination and cooperation among the stakeholders are needed to boost medical tourism as we do in the travel sector. If we employ the PPP paradigm to best capitalise on the prospects for medical tourism, this is conceivable.” Prakash advocated for designated areas at tourism fairs for medical tourism that would be staffed by medical professionals and representatives of the travel industry to highlight the amenities offered in India at various levels for end-to-end care.
The Fern Hotels & Resorts’ CMD, Param Kannampilly, stated that “India has enormous potential for Medical Tourism with the greatest doctors and amenities. However, we have only begun to scratch the surface of medical tourism, and the approval wait time is rather long.” According to Kannampilly, “the post-operative care component of medical tourism needs a serious reevaluation because long-staying visitors are a crucial demand for the hotel business and hospitals need beds to be ready to welcome new patients.”
Moderator Farhat Jamal, Chairman, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee, IMC, said, “The hospitality industry is not even tapping into the post-operative care opportunities, an important area for hotels to start focusing on.”
Vivek Braganza, Assistant Vice President, Shangri-La Group, shared, “The challenge is the very opportunity that we can tap into. There is a space to fine tune the consumer experience. Doctors at the hospital are the last leg of the value chain, it is the destination experience that comes first. It is all about creating an impression about India.” Citing the example of Singapore for its Medical Tourism infrastructure, Braganza said the city-state ranks excellent on the three aspects of destination attractiveness, safety & security, value of care. “India needs to improve further on the destination attractiveness aspect if Medical Tourism has to reach its desired potential.”
