Govt to soon come out with SOPs for medical tourists coming to India

The healthcare industry and government are working on standard operating procedures (SOPSs) to secure safe passage for medical tourists coming to the country.

The Centre is in the process of chalking out several air-bubble arrangements that are expected to increase in the days to come. Governments have begun working out bilateral or tripartite travel bubbles or corona bubble agreements to permit citizens to member nations entry into their territory, the Business Standard reported.

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The healthcare industry expects medical tourists to start thronging the country from October-November onwards.

According to the tourism ministry, India was on third position as the third most popular tourism destination in 2015 when the industry was worth $3 billion. The country was estimated to reach $9 billion (around Rs 70,000 crore) by 2020.

However, this year, things went downhill following the COVID-19 outbreak. Kapil Banga, analyst with ICRA, told the publication that big corporate chains are likely to earn around 10-12 per cent of their revenues from medical tourists as these large players constitute a majority of them (medical tourists).

The average revenue per occupied bed (ARPOB) is high for medical tourists as they come to the country for complex treatments. The top three countries from where medical tourists come in large numbers to India are Bangladesh, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

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