Promotion of Medical Tourism in India: A Discussion Paper

Medical tourism has been a rising service industry across the world for the last two decades. This paper outlines the theoretical perspective that governs the study of medical tourism, analyses the development of the sector in India and puts forth suggestions on how to promote further growth of medical tourism in the country. The paper proposes that the observed clustering of medical facilities in particular cities in India can lend itself to the development of health cities, which could have smart infrastructure geared towards the provision of world-standard medical care. The health cities could allow all stakeholders of the industry to come together and serve as generators of revenues that can be ploughed back into public healthcare provision.