Foreign tourists
rallying for healthcare
A
ccording
to
Union
Minister
of
State
(Independent Charge) for
Tourism Mr. K. J. Alphons,
the Union Ministry offers financial
support as Marketing Development
Assistance for Publicity and for
organizing Wellness and Medical
Tourism Promotion shows as well
as workshops/events/seminars to
accredited Medical and Wellness
Tourism Service Providers and
Chambers of Commerce, etc. A
film on Medical Tourism has been
produced in association with BBC
and is used at various fora for
promotional purposes; Medical
and Medical attendant visa have
been introduced to streamline and
ease the travel process of Medical
Tourists.
The e-tourist visa regime has also
been expanded to include medical
visits. Steps are afoot to set up
facilitation counters at the major
airports of Bengaluru, Chennai,
Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and
38
Mumbai and for tourists arriving on
Medical Visas.
Apart from the above, the Department
of Commerce and Services Export
Promotion Council (SEPC) has
launched a Healthcare Portal
www.indiahealthcaretourism.com in
Arabic, English, French, Russian and
other languages as a single source
platform providing comprehensive
information to medical travelers on
the top healthcare institutions in the
country.
A National Medical and Wellness
Tourism Board has also been
constituted under the Chairmanship
of the Minister for Tourism to provide
a dedicated institutional framework
to take forward the cause of
promotion of Medical and Wellness
Tourism including Ayurveda and
any other format of Indian system of
medicine covered by Ayurveda, Yoga,
Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy
(AYUSH).
Volume 3 | Issue 3 | July-September 2018
The Board has members from the
Ministries of Health, Commerce,
External Affairs, AYUSH, Home
Affairs, the National Accreditation
Board for Hospitals and Healthcare
Providers (NABH) as well as
representatives from the major
chambers of commerce, hospitals
and independent experts in the field
of Medicine and Wellness.
The Board works as an umbrella
organization to promote this segment
of tourism in an organized manner. The
Board has formed Sub-Committees on
visa issues, accreditation, standards,
marketing and promotion. The
Ministry of Tourism collates data
regarding the arrivals on Medical and
Medical Attendant visas provided
by the Ministry of Home Affairs. In
2014, Foreign Tourists Arrivals (FTAs)
recorded were: 1,84,298 (2014);
2,33,918 (2015); 4,27,014 (2016).