Travel News September 2007

Niche Tourism

A glance at the other side

US insurers eye Indian tie ups
Go Goa, for healthcare
Ayurveda: A gold mine for India
Enjoy India in Luxury with Oberoi Group
A touch of luxury
At your service

Medical Tourism

A glance at the other side
October1-15, 2007

On the fast track!

Increasing investment in recent years in health infrastructure and facilities combined with quality health professionals has improved the healthcare services in India. India is fast emerging as a regional hub for healthcare services attracting patients from many countries in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Key healthcare initiatives undertaken by the government include establishment of new regulatory bodies, launch of several healthcare programmes and changes in patent laws. The healthcare industry is currently one of the largest service sectors in India with healthcare being delivered through both the public and private sectors. In 2005, India's expenditure on healthcare was around 5.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), of which almost 75 percent to 80 percent was contributed by the private sector and the rest by the public sector. Public healthcare expenditure as a percent of GDP is very low when compared to the private healthcare expenditure. It provides healthcare services free of cost or at subsidised rates to low-income families in urban and rural areas. The public sector is mainly financed by general taxes and non-tax revenues from both internal and external agencies, with the basic role of planning, regulating, and shaping the Indian healthcare system. The provision of healthcare services by the public sector is a responsibility shared by the local, state, and central governments. The funds allocated by the government are well short of the figure that is required to meet the country's growing demand. In India, the private healthcare sector provides the bulk of the curative services. This trend puts India in the league of being one of the highest proportions of private healthcare spending countries in the world. This sector has grown immensely in the past 10-15 years.

Glaring urban-rural disparities

There is a glaring contrast in the healthcare status of people in India as is clearly pointed out by the differences in various healthcare indicators. Appropriate and affordable healthcare facilities are still inaccessible to millions of people residing in the urban and rural areas, particularly women and children. The quality of healthcare services is poor and the number of healthcare facilities is not adequate for the present population. In India, the vast majority of the population (nearly 70 percent) resides in the rural areas, while the remaining 30 percent in the urban areas. The per capita expenditure on public health is very low in the rural areas when compared to the government's healthcare spending in the urban areas. The healthcare system in India is ill-equipped to cope up with the rising number of changing disease patterns, with an average of just less than one percent of hospital beds and physicians per 1,000 people.

Government support

The key issues that the government is addressing are the modernisation of the healthcare system and greater collaboration with the healthcare industry so as to provide innovative drugs, expansion of healthcare insurance, modern medical equipment in the hospitals and better healthcare services to the people. The Indian government has been following a policy of encouraging several healthcare programmes to leverage healthcare services to people residing in the rural areas with various developmental programmes, such as the Common Minimum Prog-ramme and the National Rural Health Mission. Increased awareness of IPR increase in drug and pharmaceutical R&D expenditure and creation of suitable modern infrastructure is likely to bring new projects for drug development into the country. The National Health Policy, National Rural Health Mission, Common Minimum Programme and increase in healthcare expenditure and increased outlay in the 2007- 08 Union Budget are some initiatives in this direction.

Public-private partnerships

Since government resources have not been able to maintain the existing healthcare system and increase access to healthcare services, the government is no longer viewed as the only engine of development. Public-private partnership (PPP) is an essential strategy to expand the scope of the existing healthcare system nation-wide and secure co-operation from the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and social activists for this purpose. The government is in the process of developing necessary guidelines for PPPs in which the public sector is expected to play the main role in defining the framework and sustaining the partnerships.

Growth prospects

Prospects for the Indian healthcare industry remain bright in the forecast period due to new demand originating from different sections of the society. Economic conditions are favourable for sustainable growth; increase in disposable income is expected to increase the per capita expenditure on healthcare during the forecast period (2007-2010). The demand for healthcare services is expected to grow substantially over the next to 5-10 years, and to meet this growing demand for healthcare services, high investment is likely to be required. Particular growth opportunities exist in the Indian healthcare industry in areas like medical tourism, healthcare outsourcing, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare insurance, clinical trials, and medical devices and equipment. Significant growth opportunities also exist in stem cell biology and bioinformatics in India. The research is expected to result in the development of advanced treatment for a number of debilitating diseases. The medical tourism segment is by far the most promising and dynamic segment of the Indian healthcare industry.

Medical tourism

Currently, medical tourism is the buzzword in the Indian healthcare industry. The most important reasons why medical tourism has gained so much fame in India is the low-cost advantage and the emergence of high quality healthcare service providers in the country. The factors, which are likely to favour and make India a prominent medical tourism destination, are the high quality expertise of medical professionals, the fast improving medical equipment and nursing facilities, improvement in medical infrastructure and technology, and cost-effectiveness of the overall package. The healthcare industry is creating the necessary standards with the help of insurance companies, credit rating agencies involved in the self-regulation of the industry, which is likely to give a boost to the medical tourism industry in India.

Healthcare outsourcing

The major reason behind India emerging as an attractive destination for healthcare outsourcing is the quality of the human resource pool available in the country. Healthcare outsourcing activities in India range from claims processing and medical transcription, to medical analytic and clinical processing. In addition, Indian companies have an edge in offering a large number of value-added services such as diagnostic analysis by highly qualified medical professionals at a much cheaper cost compared to developed countries. The qualified labour force is rising as a result of the increased importance given to medical and technical education by the government.

Pharmaceuticals and drugs

Indian pharmaceutical companies' export performance has substantially boosted their sales revenues. Indian pharmaceutical exports were worth $2.33 billion in 2005. Formulations contributed over 50 percent of exports, which in turn has seen a 7.5 percent growth rate in 2005. Since 2001, the government has decided that foreign direct investment (FDI) of up to 100 percent will be allowed through the automatic route for the manufacture of drugs and pharmaceuticals. The Patent (Amendment) Act introduced in 2005 brought the pharmaceutical products under the patent regime. This law is expected to gradually slowdown the product launches in the country and at the same time drive Indian companies to increase their R&D activities.

Source: Expresspharmaonline.com

US insurers eye Indian tie ups
October6, 2007

Keen to take advantage of low-cost healthcare in India, the US is pushing its insurance firms to draw up attractive medical tourism packages with Indian hospitals to facilitate travel and treatment for its citizens there.

A few firms have already started offering 30-40 per cent discount on their annual health insurance premium for those going to India for treatment. Some are also adding tourism and shopping to their packages and arranging for friends and relatives to stay at nearby affordable hotels.

Indian officials, who were here last week to participate in a series of trade, investment and cultural events, said an increasing number of American insurance companies were keen to tie up with Indian hospitals.

"Many of them are setting up liaison offices in India so that it is easier for them to send their clients for major surgeries in India," said an Indian official.

The issue figured prominently during the first meeting of the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) of the US-India Trade Policy Forum held in New York last month.

According to Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, the US side was keen to ask its insurance companies to work with hospitals in India. "It will open up a huge opportunity for our country," the minister said.

In fact, some US medical insurance companies like Blue Cross and Blue Shield have already announced schemes for treatment in India.

Cost comparison

Giving a cost comparison, officials said while a coronary bypass urgery in the US costs $60,000, it costs a mere $6,600 in India. A single knee replacement costs at least $22,000 in the US, while it is $6,500 in India. A bone marrow transplant is $250,000 in the US, while Indian hospitals do it for $26,000. Rhinoplasty (nose job) costs $10,000 in the US, and just $2,000 in India.

Even the common dental root canal treatment is a prohibitive $1,000 in the US and just $100 in India. The list goes on.

US insurance companies are offering to arrange for appointments with medical specialists, hospital admissions, pickup and drop-off at airport, additional travel and accommodations in India for the patients.

Many here feel that the move would be a "great relief" for Americans, who find health insurance in their country exorbitant.

"The health premiums are becoming unaffordable. Anything related to medical treatment has become hugely expensive here," said Catherine Simon, who works in a hospital here.

Around 60 million people in the US do not have medical insurance. Even those who have it cannot afford the expensive surgical procedures.

Source: NDTV Profit

Go Goa, for healthcare
September 28, 2007

A little late in the day perhaps, but Goa is finally gearing up to join the private healthcare wave running through the rest of India. Despite attracting a large number of tourists from the world over, the healthcare system in Goa never developed to a level where it could provide specialty care to residents or tourists.

But now, some private players are eyeing the state and even the government seems to have become proactive in this regard.

Wockhardt, for instance, has been treating patients from Goa at its hospitals in Mumbai and Bangalore for many years. Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt, says, “Traditionally, for speciality treatments like neuro or cardiac care, patients from Goa went outside the state.”

Wockhardt’s decision to enter Goa came after the realisation that residents of the state who sought healthcare outside were familiar with the brand and would relate it with a Wockhardt institute within Goa. The company has already started work on its specialty hospital in Goa.

A huge impetus in this direction, however, comes from the state itself. The government of Goa recently signed an agreement with the India Infrastructure Initiative Trust (III), run by IDFC and Feedback Ventures, to set up through public-private partnership, a super-specialty block within the Goa Medical College.

There are many reasons for this initiative. Besides the growing demand for tertiary care in the state, the government of Goa faced another problem — that of the depleting state mediclaim fund. In a policy that is unique only to Goa, the state government provides its residents with mediclaim. Private hospitals are finally entering the tourist paradise.

A little late in the day perhaps, but Goa is finally gearing up to join the private healthcare wave running through the rest of India. Despite attracting a large number of tourists from the world over, the healthcare system in Goa never developed to a level where it could provide specialty care to residents or tourists.

But now, some private players are eyeing the state and even the government seems to have become proactive in this regard.

However, increasing lifestyle-related diseases that led to the demand for tertiary care pushed a large number of patients outside Goa. This translated into huge mediclaims by the residents, but the money, instead of remaining within the state went to hospitals in other states.

Says Suresh Kumar, COO, III, “Last year we proposed a PPP to the government and they liked the idea. Now that the agreement has been signed, we will start looking for a strategic partner that will set-up the specialty block.”

The proposed 250-bed tertiary care block will see an investment of Rs 100 crore from the chosen partner, with the government providing the land. Kumar is not worried about the success or profitability of such hospitals in the state.

“Currently the state is spending close to Rs 20 crore per annum on patients going outside for treatment. So, there is huge demand and opportunity here.” Cardiac, pediatric, neuro and nephrology are the proposed specialties, but the private partner will be free to add more. 

A huge segment of the earnings, of course, will also be contributed by overseas patients and tourists who may require treatment. No wonder then that South-based Manipal Health Systems, which had stayed away from the city till now is also preparing for a grand entry.

Says R Basil, CEO, Manipal Health Systems, “We will set up hospitals in Bangalore of course, but we are also setting up a 250-bed facility in Goa since there is huge opportunity there.” Adds Bali, “The criteria is not international patients, at least at the moment, since the domestic demand is very high.”

Source: Business Standard via MSN India

Ayurveda: A gold mine for India
September 18, 2007

The medical tourism market in India was estimated at US$ 330 million in 2004 and it will be US$ 2 billion by 2012 as per estimates by the Indian tourism ministry.

This estimate is based on international tourist arrivals for heart surgery, bypass operations and other major treatment at India's high-tech hospitals. The ayurveda medical tourism, which will reach every village in India without any hi-tech hospitals, is thereby not included in the above estimate.

According World Health Organisation, chronic diseases are the major cause of death and disability worldwide, and increasingly affect people from developing as well as developed countries. This reflects a significant change in diet habits, physical activity levels worldwide as a result of industrialisation, urbanisation, economic development and increasing globalisation of food market. An estimated 177 million people are affected by diabetes. Two-thirds live in the developing world. More than one billion adults worldwide are overweight, and at least 300 million of these are clinically obese. People worldwide are consuming more foods that are energy-dense - high in sugar and/or saturated fats - or excessively salty.

The scientific evidence is strong that a change in dietary habits and physical activity can powerfully influence several of these risk factors in populations. Heart attacks and strokes kill about 12 million people every year. In addition, 3.9 million people die annually from hypertensive and other heart conditions. Up to 80 per cent of cases of coronary heart disease, 90 per cent of type 2 diabetes cases, and one-third of cancers can be avoided by changing to a healthier diet, increasing physical activity and stopping smoking. Established scientific evidence suggests there are major health benefits in eating more fruit and vegetables, as well as nuts and whole grains, daily physical activity, moving from saturated animal fats to unsaturated vegetable oil-based fats, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sugary foods in the diet and maintaining a normal body weight.

Ayurveda can help these patients. But how to help them. They need first a consultation with a doctor, who is specialised in that field. Only after due consultation a treatment can be planned. There is no efficient system to satisfy this demand. Such a system is now for the first time implemented in www.ayurveda-portal.com where a panel of doctors is available for customers worldwide to speak to individually. Joseph Kaduthanam, managing director, Aymex Services, who had initiated ayurveda medical tourism in 1985, has developed this portal. "It is high time the Government of India and the tourism department promote ayurveda medical tourism to villages of India, by offering financial help to ayurveda doctors to improve facilities in their hospitals and resorts to attract guests from all over the world. This would improve employment opportunities in Indian villages and would generate more revenue than medical tourism to hi-tech hospitals", feels Kaduthanam, who was recently honoured as the brand ambassador of ayurveda by the Ayurveda Hospital Management Association.

The ayurveda portal has several functions like consultation facilities with specialised panel of doctors, education on ayurveda: its history, principles - vata, pita, kapha theory, various treatment methods and herbal plants used, search facility on ayurveda hospitals, resorts, online instant booking and payment gateway facilities and a global ayurveda directory. This portal is linked to more than 1,500 travel agents, 2,000 yoga centres, to promote ayurveda medical tourism to India. It also gives links to more than 3,000 organic bio-shops worldwide, so that patients after an ayurveda treatment can continue their diet.

Source: Indian Express

Luxury and Rejuvenation

Enjoy India in Luxury with Oberoi Group
October5, 2007

Here’s a new dish on the menu of top-end hotels. It’s expensive, comes with lots of frills, pampers the super rich no end and the package comes complete with an experience manager. On a more mundane note, it’s called itinerary-based holiday packages.

In a bid to woo independent luxury travellers, the Oberoi Group plans to offer such holiday packages. Christened as India in Luxury, the product is targeted at the international luxury travellers from the UK, the US and Europe. The itineraries, which give ample time to travellers to experience India, can cost an individual anywhere from Rs 300,000 for a nine-day itinerary to Rs 680,000 for a 22-day trip.

To begin with there are four itineraries that the group is offering. The offer includes accommodation at an Oberoi property, business class or economy class domestic airfare, meals, road transfers, spa treatments, guide charges and also entrance charges to places of interest and monuments. “With the launch of India in Luxury, the endeavour is to extend the Oberoi experience to the guest’s entire visit,” says a senior executive of the Oberoi Group.

To take care of visitors opting for these itineraries, each hotel will have a luxury experience manager who will be incharge of the guests itinerary, road transfers, connecting flights, spa appointments and dietary preferences. The programme can be booked by a travel agent also through the Oberoi central reservation system or the Oberoi Hotels & Resorts website. Properties that are part of the itinerary are Oberoi hotels in Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra, Ranthambore, Mumbai, Delhi and Wildflower Hall in Shimla.

This might just be the start of an’ itinerary-based holiday’ trend. While in India, Oberoi Group claims to be the first hotel chain to offer such holidays, globally there are few such products being offered. Orient Express offers itinerary-based holidays branded as Journeys of Distinction in Europe, Asia and South America while Aman resorts offers such travel options in Bhutan.

Source: Economic Times

A touch of luxury
September 30, 2007

In the last three years, we've explored cities in foreign countries, shopped till we dropped, and filled albums with photos of ourselves grinning in front of tourist attractions around the world.

Frankly, our vacations have become a bit... dull. So now that we've been there and done that, what's the plan for the next holiday? Well, we could go for something a little more sophisticated. Something like these, perhaps.

Cruises
It doesn't exactly have the shimmering splendour of the Titanic, but when the Costa Mediterranea luxury liner heads out into the rippling blue waters off Venice for a seven-day European joyride, there is a whiff of old world romance in the air. It touches Bari (Italy), Olympia, Santorini and Rhodes (Greece) and Dubrovnik (Croatia) before sailing back home. It was, says a cruiser who was left poorer by Rs 63,999 at the end of the week, like living in a dream. An aqua-fantasy. And so worth the price.

"Cruises are fun; my wife loves them. And they are definitely the in thing now," says Bangalore-based hotelier B K Menon, who sailed down the Canada and US coasts in an Atlantic cruise last year. Cruises, says Brian Major of the Florida-based Regent Seven Seas Cruises, a global luxury cruise line, are becoming popular as more and more vacationers recognise that they offer enjoyable, flexible and value-oriented experiences that are not available on overland holidays.

A cruise vacation normally includes transportation, meals, entertainment and accommodation, all together. "Today's ships offer international itineraries covering all regions of the world and allow guests to sample several destinations in one vacation," says Major.

Water world
As we become more sophisticated as travellers, we begin to see the advantages that cruises offer. Cruises are niche holidays that are flexible enough to include wacky schedules and innovations, says Peter De Jong, CEO, Pacific-Asia Travel Association. "And, of course, a touch of class."

While some of us save up for long cruises out of Europe and America, most of us, especially first-time travellers, prefer to stick to cruises that touch ports like Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia and China. These don't come cheap, so usually cruisers tend to be people with pretty fat bank accounts and a taste for something offbeat. The most popular operators are Star Cruises, Royal Caribbean, P and amp;O, Princess and Cunard, which hawk the most luxurious packages.

The liners are packed to the brim. In 2006, more than 65,000 tourists from India holidayed on the high seas. Short duration cruises, usually for three days and four nights, are the most popular. "Europeans love long cruises, but Indians don't have the time. So, weekend getaways like Supertsar Libra's one-night package to Goa are in demand," says Arup Sen, executive director, Cox and Kings.

"The great Indian rivers and their surrounding locales are being promoted as alternative destinations," says Sushila Nair, executive director, Vivada Cruises. Vivada, the country's largest inland carrier, offers two cruises; one to the Sundarbans and the other on the Hooghly in Kolkata.

Ocean of Innovation
Because we don't like holidays that consist solely of lounging in deckchairs, many operators have customised their itineraries to include activities. Star Cruises for instance, offers restaurants, pools, gyms, recreation rooms and lounges. Regent Seven Seas, which offers voyages of exploration and discovery to over 300 ports across six continents, including Antarctica, boasts of six-star comforts and Cordon Bleu menus. Its new Discovery Collection blends education with leisure, so depending on the cruise you choose, you can holiday and learn from professional photographers, ocean explorers, wine experts, and chocolate and coffee connoisseurs.

Spa tourism
Why do we need holidays? Well, you may reply, because we want to get away from the stress of our day-to-day existences. Because we want to relax, refresh our minds, bodies and souls, and recharge ourselves so that we can return to our regular lives happily.

Good answer. That's exactly why, when we plan our holidays these days, we don't only consider places where there are things to do and sights to photograph. We also consider spas.

India rising
As a concept, spa holidays are new. But the spirit behind them is ancient. Till very recently in India, we had no spas, just ashrams where yoga and herbal cures cleansed the body and mind. Today, they're called spas - wellness resorts - and while they continue to be peaceful places offering yoga and herbal cures, they do so in an atmosphere of quiet luxury suitable for the people who usually go to them - well off people aged between 35 and 45, according to Arup Sen. Because spa treatments trace their roots to traditional Indian cures, our first choice tends to be wellness resorts in India, particularly in the hills of Uttarakhand and the lush greenness of Kerala.

"A survey by the International Spa Organisation says domestic spa tourism has increased by 250 per cent in 2006-2007, whereas the outbound flow has fallen by 50 per cent since 2005. More Indians are opting for spa resorts in the country than abroad," says Siraj Halyara, regional manager, Serena Spas, an India-based chain with resorts in the Maldives, Egypt, Seychelles and in Cochin, Kerala.

Heal thyself
That's all very well, but why did we decide that our holidays should be 'wellness' oriented? The answer is simple. First, our working styles since globalisation began to affect us have changed completely, which means that our life-styles have changed too. We sit at our desks for long hours, eat badly, and exercise less. Naturally we're stressed almost all the time, and that puts our health at risk. So spas that offer us luxuries while they put our lives back on track are top on our vacation lists when we get to a certain age.

Second, we are more open these days to 'alternative' therapies. While our belief in allopathy hasn't wholly disappeared, we are willing to try traditional approaches to health that aim for holistic wellness rather than cures for symptoms, says Arup Sen. And that's what spas offer us.

Women's world
A lot of us like to combine wellness with travel, which is why we also go abroad for our spa holidays. Switzerland, the pioneer in spa holidays, draws hordes from India to La Prarie Spa in the Lake Geneva region, the Victoria Jungfrau Spa in Interlaken, the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne and Leukerbad Alpentherme. "The natural hot springs are an advantage and now more and more resorts are taking advantage of the purity and natural beauty of Switzerland to make it a wellness destination," says Ritu Sharma of the Swiss Tourism Board.

Executives and corporate jet-setters apart, women form the bulk of the spa tourists. The Champney's Health Resort in England, which has four properties spread across Britain, has a core female audience within the 30-55 age-group. "They visit our spas from across the globe to escape the pressures of modern living and lead a more healthy life," says Sharon Scott, group PR and marketing manager of Champney's.

For most spa tourists, a wellness holiday is spiritually elevating. "I look for a place where I can look to the clouds and talk to gods," says Chennai-based Gouri Choksi, who is headed for Ananda Spa in the Himalayas this year.

Source: Hindustan Times

Others

At your service
October5, 2007

Volunteer tourism, or voluntourism as it's now come to be called, is perhaps the newest trend in tourism right now. Everybody has visited new places with the help of tour guides and travel brochures./p>

But volunteering to work with a local organisation or NGO in a place you want to visit can be a great way of discovering everything about it. And voluntourism is fast becoming the preferred option for many foreign tourists who want to travel around India. "I interned for 10 weeks with Akanksha, an NGO for underprivileged children. My experience of India would have been starkly different had I come just as a tourist," says US resident Karina Weinstein. But for NGOs and organisations that accept foreign volunteers, supporting these activities could be a source of financial strain. For more info visit www.ivoindia.org

Source: Hindustan Times