KPMG-FICCI study ranked India among top three medical tourism destinations in Asia

KPMG-FICCI on 1 September 2014 released a study on medical tourism destinations titled Medical Value Travel in India. The study has ranked India among top three medical tourism destinations in Asia. The other two countries within Asia that receive maximum medical tourists are Thailand and Singapore. As per the report, these three countries together accounted for about 60 percent of the total Asian revenue in 2012.

In its report it also highlighted low cost of treatment, quality health care infrastructure and availability of highly-skilled doctors as the reason for being among the top three. The report pointed out that Asian countries have introduced various marketing strategies to attract medical tourists.

The report says that in past few years, Asia has taken the lead as one of the most preferred destination for medical value travel.

In context of India, the report said that India is known mostly for its cost-effective medical treatments along with high standards in cardiology, orthopaedics, nephrology, oncology and neuro surgery. The country is also known for its alternative treatment options such as yoga and ayurveda.

The study is based on the research that was conducted in India and other Asian countries. The study found that the sector has emerged as one of the largest sectors in India and in 2012 it earned an estimated 78.6 billion dollar. It poises to grow at an annual rate of 15 percent to reach 158.2 billion dollars by 2017.