| Saturday, February 10, 2007 |
| Medical tourism in Kerala, state to become global destination for healthcare tourism |
Kerala, the scenic, southernmost state in India, is all set to project itself as an international destination for healthcare tourism.
Road shows will be held in Sri Lanka, Maldives, and West Asia to showcase the possibilities and attractions of Kerala's medical tourism.
There are also plans to include the United States and several destinations of the Europe in the medical tourism drive, according to E K Bharat Bhushan, Principal Secretary, Kerala Tourism.
Kerala's health tourism policy envisages a huge investment opportunity for the non-resident Keralites (NRKs), making it a venture promising them considerable profits in the long term.
The new policy aims at introducing Kerala on the international tourism stage by 2010. The Kerala government intends to achieving this by raising the budget allocations to the public health sector and allowing private participation.
The Kerala government, Bharat Bhushan said, is ready to help NRKs who invest to set up any kind of healthcare facility. But only those hospitals which comply with the terms of the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for hospitals and healthcare providers would be given official recognition.
The growth of tourism in Kerala has been phenomenal -- there was a huge growth of 31% in Kerala's tourist traffic in 2005.
A report released by the RNCOS, an industry research firm incorporated in 2002, titled Opportunities in Medical Tourism in India (2007) says: "Kerala, since beginning, has been the most-preferred destination for those looking for the rejuvenating magic of ayurveda. But, the current trends show that Kerala is emerging as a modern healthcare provider due to evolving collaborations of enterprisers in the private healthcare sector and the tourism industry which are advertising medical tourism belligerently. Hospitals are also setting up special divisions and support systems for their foreign clients."
The market research report also addresses the following critical facts and issues: An overview of worldwide and Asian medical tourism industry, section-wise performance of the medical tourism industry in India, emerging trends and growth driving factors, key regulations and policy environment, government initiatives to promote medical tourism, opportunities and challenges, and key players in the field of healthcare tourism.
The RNCOS report provides extensive research and rational analysis of the medical tourism industry in India.Labels: Travel |
| posted by a correspondent @ 11:31 PM |
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