Care Tourism

Turkey is fast becoming a top medical tourism destination for the Gulf and other Arab countries, a report said.

Many patients are opting Turkey for a nip, tuck, laser eye surgery or hair transplant, it said.

Over the past few years, rising costs in health care worldwide have caused an increase in the medical tourism industry with patients flocking to parts of Turkey for cosmetic surgery, according to the Turkey medical tourism outlook for 2017.

The country is the preferred destination for hair transplant procedures for many Arabs. The report also highlighted other emerging segments of Turkey’s medical tourism including dentistry, cosmetic surgery, infertility treatment and eye treatment.

“Patients are travelling to Turkey from all over the world, including the Gulf, seeking cosmetic surgery with a quick recovery,” said Mustafa Ozdemir, cultural and information attaché from the Cultural and Information Office of the Turkish Consulate-General in Dubai.

“In fact, there are even companies that organise trips to Istanbul or south-western Turkey for procedures and treatments. Patients are looking for geographic proximity and the reputation of the country, when choosing Turkey, which is why medical tourism is increasing in the country and we anticipate significant growth in the near future,” he said.

With Turkey treating nearly a quarter of a million foreign patients each year, the country boasts certified doctors in all fields and more Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals than anywhere outside the US.

According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Turkey ranks ninth in the world for its number of plastic surgeons with 700 registered as practising in the country.

“People want to make the trip part of a tourism experience, so after their procedures they choose to stay in some of the most scenic cities in Turkey to make quick recoveries,” Ozdemir said. “These include Fethiye, Istanbul, Antalya, Marmaris, Bodrum and Kuşadası.” –  TradeArabia News Service

source: http://www.ttnworldwide.com / TTN / Home> Health & Environment / August 31st, 2014

Patients mostly come for heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care.

The medical tourism market in India is projected to hit $3.9 billion mark this year having grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 27 per cent over the last three years, according to a joint report by consultancy firm KPMG and industry body FICCI.

The report says inflow of medical tourists is expected to cross 320 million by 2015 compared with 85 million in 2012.

The medical tourism industry in India gets maximum patients for heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care as the cost of treatment in India is considered to be the lowest in Asia, much lower than Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the report stated.

A key competitive advantage India has in medical tourism is the cost effectiveness it has to offer to its patients.

“A person coming to India for his/her medical treatment can have savings anywhere in the range of 30 to 70 per cent. Even if we consider the ticket expenses and accommodation expenses along with the treatment cost, the overall expenditure would be lower than the treatment cost in the UK or the US or many other countries,” the report stated.

The report, however, points out that India has a fragmented approach where individual hospitals have been promoting themselves as the hospital destinations. The medical-value-travel stakeholders in India need to consolidate their efforts and strategise on how to leverage the available opportunities, it said.

Besides the western markets, the SAARC countries have been an important source of medical tourists for India.

Amit Mookim, partner and head of healthcare practices, KPMG India, said, “The medical tourism landscape in Asia is continually evolving as price no longer remains the only important consideration; focus has now shifted to diversity in offerings, niche offerings and even customised luxury.”

He noted that India does face stiff competition in the segment from countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. One disadvantage faced by Indian medical tourism industry is the lack of special visa rules for patients but it counters this with alternative therapy offerings like yoga, meditation, ayurveda, and other traditional methods of treatment that attract tourists from European nations and the Middle East to India.

The report says that the country needs to work on increasing efficiency at the immigration to make the travelling experience hassle free for patients and also better infrastructure in terms of highways and roads would add to the overall satisfaction of medical tourists. Affordable hotels, availability of language interpreters are a few areas which also need to be given significant consideration to increase medical tourism in India.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

source: http://www.vccircle.com / VCCircle / Home> Others /b y Jasleen Kaur Batra / Monday – September 01st, 2014