The Hindu Business Line : Medical tourism: Centre considering visa on arrival

Kochi March 28 The Union Government plans to introduce the concept of `visa on arrival' at select airports in the country on an experimental basis in an effort to promote medical tourism, said Mr A.K. Mishra, Union Tourism Secretary.

At least 16 countries are under consideration for the visa-on-arrival facility, which could be introduced at two airports - Delhi and Mumbai - on an experimental basis. The Government will also promote institutions providing quality healthcare facilities in Kerala through its offices abroad, he said.

Mr Mishra, who was in Kochi to attend the recently concluded Kerala Health Tourism Summit, said the State has good potential for medical tourism as its quality human resource in the healthcare sector is known globally. Institutions providing quality healthcare in the State would be provided links on the official Web site of India Tourism - Incredible India, he said.

A taskforce formed by the Union Government on medical tourism will help promote institutions providing quality healthcare to tourists. Hospitals in the State should strive to gain global accreditation, especially in the US, UK and countries in the European Union, he said. Mr Mishra also called on the healthcare sector to concentrate more on niche areas and aggressively market them abroad.

Health tourism meet

Mr Navas Meeran, the outgoing chairman of CII-Kerala Chapter said the second edition of Kerala Health Tourism Summit-2007 had received overwhelming response from within India and abroad.

The number of delegates had doubled to 800 compared with 400 a year ago. Business delegates from the US, the UK, the UAE, Canada, Sri Lanka and several other countries attended the three-day summit in Kochi, he said.

Kerala receives around 10,000-12,000 persons a year from abroad seeking modern medical care, said Mr V. Sriram of ICRA (International Credit Rating Agency), which had recently conducted a study on the potential of the sector. The State's health tourism market is expected grow 10-12 per cent per annum, he said.

The study commissioned by CII-Kerala also stressed the importance for developing linkages between ayurveda and modern systems of medicine to promote Kerala as a healthcare tourism destination.

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