Bangladesh is a major contributor to India’s medical tourism industry, but the ongoing unrest could lead to a drop in arrivals. Mumbai-based rating firm CareEdge has warned that if the unrest continues, arrivals from Bangladesh are likely to fall by 10-15% by 2024.
India is among the top 10 countries for medical tourism globally and is particularly popular among countries in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Nearly 70-80% of medical tourists in India come from Bangladesh and the Middle East, with visitors from neighboring Bangladesh typically accounting for 50-60% of all international medical tourists.
According to CareEdge, one of the key factors in achieving this milestone is the similarity in culture and language, quality of treatment at competitive prices, and access to advanced facilities. Bangladesh is the leading contributor to India's medical tourism, surpassing the Middle East, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. However, the recent political and social unrest in Bangladesh poses risks to this booming segment of the tourism industry. In the report, CareEdge said a large number of tourists from Bangladesh have cancelled or postponed their trips to India.
India’s healthcare system is popular across the world and has seen growth due to its competitive treatment costs, infrastructure, high-quality medical services, and relatively short waiting times. After the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s medical tourism has grown significantly since 2022. According to a statistic, the size of India’s healthcare tourism market is estimated to reach US$ 19.43 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US$ 26.55 billion by 2029.
The above results were achieved from the Indian Government's initiatives in expanding the issuance of electronic medical visas to citizens from dozens of countries, creating conditions to promote the country's medical tourism industry in the coming time. India has issued medical visas to 165 countries, allowing international visitors to stay for 60 days and be allowed to enter the country three times during this period. To ease visa and foreign exchange regulations for medical tourists and improve transparency in this system, New Delhi has launched the Heal In India initiative. Accordingly, this one-stop online portal will also support foreign patients throughout their medical tourism journey in India.
In addition, New Delhi's increased spending on tourism also helps attract more tourists. Of which, domestic tourist spending in India in 2021 reached about 151 billion USD, a significant increase compared to 2020 (more than 6 billion USD), contributing to promoting medical tourism in India.
Medical tourism is one of the driving forces behind the growth of the Indian tourism industry with a wide range of products including meditation, yoga and Ayurveda. In the Indian healthcare sector, Ayurveda contributes the largest market share, followed by personal care, beauty, nutrition and medical tourism.
MINH CHAU
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/bat-on-o-bangladesh-anh-huong-du-lich-y-te-an-do-post754451.html
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