Industry analysis of medical tourism in India

Abstract

The global medical tourism industry was $10.5 billion in 2012 and is estimated to grow at 17.9% to reach $32.5 billion by 2019. There has been an increase in demand for medical tourism due to demographical changes, growing disposable incomes combined with higher healthcare awareness made people emphasize on holistic wellbeing irrespective of their medical condition. India is ranked among top destinations for medical tourism globally and is ranked 3rd among Asian countries. This is due to factors such as availability of quality specialists and doctors, low cost of medical treatment and advanced medical technology & infrastructure. India is seen as the next big nation globally and govt. has taken many initiatives for companies from different sectors to set-up and develop themselves. All the top global companies and hospitals have started to explore and develop medical tourism in India with the support from other stakeholders such as Hotel chain, travel agents etc. This report looks at what are the factors that international patients look for before choosing destination or country for medical care and how does the medical tourism industry function in terms of value chain analysis based on stakeholders involved in the whole process. We have also studied how other top Asian countries have established themselves in this industry and how these factors play with respect to India. We also come to know that govt. has played a vital role in the establishment of medical tourism in other destinations for which we looked at what steps of the value addition process or where can the govt. step into and play an important for the industry to flourish in India. Keeping in mind the risks involved with respect to medical tourism industry and functioning of health care industry in India, we looked to develop an optimal business strategy for a business in medical tourism industry, considering the external factors involved and potential challenges that could be faced.