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Medical Tourism in India

Tourism Board — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:20:59 +0000

Tummy tucks and a visit to the Taj Mahal is not unusual, what with the escalating medical costs the world over, patients are flocking Eastwards to countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The quality of medical services is often found better than some of the care centre in the United States and the UK. Many countries have now developed official partnerships for speedy treatments in India for their residents most of whom have to wait for extended periods of time to undergo operations. In India, medical treatment is not only fast but would also costs a fraction of what it would costs in USA or Europe.

So, scale or whiten your tooth at $ 300 in the US, or do so at $75 in India. A smile designed at US$ 8000 can be yours at one eighth the cost in India. Forget, cosmetic surgery, a dialysis in the US will shortchange you for $ 300 as against $50 for the same procedure in Chennai. Bone marrow transplant, surgical oncology, cord blood transplants, transplants of the heart, lung, liver are all possible at lower costs in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India than most developed countries where health insurance continues to shoot up in a heavily taxed public health-care system.

A chance to visit India and the Far East while healing and treating ailments at affordable costs has led patients from the developed nations to utilize health services in India at a fraction of the costs in the West. Five to seven per cent of Escorts’ patients are understood to be from abroad. Most patient traffic is from West Asia, South East Asia and Africa. International health insurance companies abroad are looking to forge partnerships with renowned specialty hospitals for Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to combine their treatment in India with their annual family visits.

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Most Indian states have either established themselves as destinations for health care and tourism or are building medical brand images. Add to this, Yogic healing, Transcendental Meditation (TM) along with alternate therapies of ayurveda in India has been repackaged and redefined and goes hand in hand with India’s rise in ‘Health Tourism “also called Medical Tourism. Further, impetus has come from corporate such as the Tatas, Fortis, Max, Wockhardt, Piramal, and the Escorts group who are investing in setting up of modern hospitals in major cities. Many have in fact built health packages designed for patients, including airport pickups, visa assistance, boarding and lodging. With advanced medical and biotechnological progress, India along with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are leaders in selling healthcare the world over.

With India’s infrastructure and technology quite at par with those in the USA, UK and Europe, also boasts of some of the best hospitals and treatment centers in the world. A favourite world getaway, India as a health and tourism destination is here to stay.

A joint report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) -McKinsey study on Health tourism says that at its current pace of growth, healthcare tourism alone can rake over US$ 1.7 billion additional revenues by 2012. Medical tourism is now a US$ 299 million industry, as about 100,000 patients come each year.

The biggest driver for healthcare tourism is the disparity in costs, nearly one fifth of the cost in the developed world. India is definitely capitalizing on its low medical costs and the expertise of its highly skilled medical fraternity.

· A heart surgery in the US costs US$ 30,000 as compared to US$ 6,000 in India.

· A bone marrow transplant in the US costs US$ 250,000 and US$ 26,000 in India

Lately, the Indian Government launched the six month medical Visa in 2005. The Visa allows a foreigner to stay for a year for medical treatment in India. In addition, the Government has also introduced policy measures such as the National Health Policy which recognizes the treatment of international patients as an export, allowing private hospitals treating international patients to enjoy the benefits of lower import duties, an increase in the rate of depreciation (from 25 per cent to 40 per cent) for life-saving medical equipment and several tax sops.

The ease in international travel, the improvement of technology and standards of care in many of the Far Eastern countries and in India score a point with patients in Britain or Canada who have to rely on the heavily taxed public health-care system for routine heart surgery, a hip resurfacing or a hip replacement which sometimes take years to be treated.

Originally published here.

Manoj Gursahani

Medical Tourism in the Philippines Poised for Growth with Launch of International Accreditation Program

Tourism Board — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:15:59 +0000

A globally-recognized accreditation program has been launched in the Philippines to improve the quality of care among local healthcare providers and develop the country’s medical tourism products and offerings.

Under the aegis of its exclusive Philippine representative HealthCORE, NABH International aims to improve the conditions, systems, processes and skills of healthcare facilities and professionals in the country through internationally recognized and accredited standards.

“Accreditation is a practical solution to one of the main issues in medical tourism, which is quality and safety assurance. We can not underestimate its importance, since international accreditation allows our healthcare provider to inform patients that it has undergone external assessment which has been benchmarked globally. It builds credibility and confidence, which generates recognition among foreign patients, thereby promoting medical tourism,” said Dr. Sanjiv Malik, Board Member of NABH and Executive Director of DM Healthcare Group in UAE, who was also responsible for the marketing strategies of Taiwan Task Force for Medical Travel.

Developed and successfully implemented in India, NABH has been accredited by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) under its International Accreditation Program in 2008–one of the few accrediting organizations in the world to achieve this recognition. ISQua is an international body which grants approval to healthcare accreditation programs as a seal of excellence.

“The Philippines already has some advantages compared to other countriesâ€”we have well-trained healthcare professionals who have excellent English communication skills, and our hospitality and optimism provides an ideal place for patients to heal and recuperate. But for medical tourism to truly flourish in the Philippines, we recognize the need for the Filipino healthcare providers to be at par with world-class standards, which is exactly the goal of accreditation,” said DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions Vicente Romano III.

NABH International’s accreditation process entails onsite visits and facility tours to assess if standards on access, care of patients, management of medication, patient rights and infection control are met. Standards on continuous quality improvement, good governance, facility safety, human resources and information management system are likewise evaluated by highly qualified and well-trained assessors comprised of clinicians, healthcare administrators and nursing supervisors.

“This is an opportunity for the Philippines to benchmark with the best in the world. Accreditation with NABH International results in healthcare organizations that are globally competitive and attuned to the needs and requirements of international patients,” said Dr. Girdhar J. Gyani, CEO of NABH International and Secretary General of Quality Council of India.

Aside from hospitals and clinics, NABH International also covers the accreditation of spas, wellness centers, blood banks, community health centers, and other small healthcare organizations.

“As we aspire to position the Philippines as an international healthcare destination, our world-class doctors, nurses and therapists need the same world-class facilities to practice their profession. By matching our world-class capability with the improvement of our hospitals and clinics to world-class standards, the Philippines is set to become a global hub of healthcare,” said staunch medical tourism advocate Joyce Alumno, President of HealthCORE and CEO of HIM Communications.

Aside from boosting medical tourism, the accreditation program is seen to support of the present administration’s agenda of giving universal access to high-quality healthcare.

“With NABH International’s stringent accreditation process, we can ensure that our hospitals will provide safe and effective healthcare of the highest quality and best value. At its heart, NABH is all about improving the overall healthcare system for the benefit of patients,” said Juris Umali-Soliman, CEO of HealthCORE.

Originally published here.

HealthCORE

Alleppey Tourism Development Co-operative Society

Tourism Board — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 08:12:59 +0000

Mr. T G Raghu, a pioneer in the backwater tourism industry of Kerala, has started the Alleppey Tourism Development Co-operative Society Ltd (ATDC) in 1986, the first co-operative move in Kerala for promoting tourism. Conducted cruise from Alleppey to Kollam and back through the waterways of the villages was its initial venture to lure the tourists to the backwaters of the land. ‘With three tourists on board, the inaugural trip was a modest start but was a milestone in the backwater tourism of Kerala.

‘In the first trip we started with three Europeans, now 25 years down, around 250 tourists are travelling between Alappuzha and Kollam every day,’ said Mr. T G Raghu, Secretary, ATDC. It provided tourists with a rare chance to enjoy the beautiful and spectacular sights of Kuttanadu and elsewhere at very economic rates. The “Elephant Pageant”, organized with 51 elephants on 11 August 1989 from Alappuzha Recreation Ground to Municipal Ground, provided a novel experience to the tourists as well as the natives. It had organized a motor boat rally, the first of its kind, in Aleppey in 1990. In 1991, the ATDC built the first non-mechanized houseboat, providing the voyage with a nostalgic feeling.

It now aims to expand the business. It has plans to start a new resort project in Malabar especially in Wayanad, expanding its geographical presence to northern area. To connect backwaters, beaches and hill stations and to provide a complete package, the group has purchased 4.5 acres of pepper estate in Thekkady. ‘There will be expansion in the current facility at Marari beach too’, said Mr. T.G Raghu. This, along with ten other upcoming projects, will make the Marari beach a complete destination soon. To promote farm tourism of Kuttanadu, a rice village resort project facing the paddy fields is also on cards. A luxury resort with 40 rooms at Anakkara in Kerala-Tamil Nadu border will be completed by 2012.

The infrastructure backbone of the ATDC, such as the houseboats, luxury cruisers, resorts and villages, belong to the Edakkadu group of companies. The Edakkadu Group of Companies includes Kerala Backwaters Private Limited, Coir Village Lake Resort Private Limited, Aleppey Fishermen Village Beach Resort Private Limited, and Pepper Village Hill Resorts Private Limited. The group has a variety of properties at different destinations to enable it to provide complete Kerala tour packages connecting backwaters, beaches and hill stations.

The Coir Village Lake Resort Ltd, another group company, owns a beautiful backwater island resort which has 25 independent well appointed luxurious A/c and non A/c cottages equipped with all the modern amenities. Thick vegetation dominated by the palm trees surrounding the cottages add to the greenery and beauty of this little paradise. The four hour long cruise to Coir Village along the enchanting backwaters will be a rare opportunity to experience Kerala’s backwater life. Alleppey Fishermen Village, an exquisite beach resort situated at Mararikulam, has 10 independent air conditioned cottages. Both these properties transcend the real beats of Kerala village life.

Originally published here.

Jacob

Medical Tourism Tips: What a Medical Tourist Should Know and Do

Tourism Board — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:26:59 +0000

It’s easy to hop on a plane and catch the next flight to your surgical destination . But before you do so, there are a number of things you should know and do to make your medical tourism trip safe and successful. Here is a list that will assist you in planning…

DO PROPER RESEARCH

Research is the first step to successful medical travel. Make sure that you do your research on the following:

1. The procedure: Find out about the procedure and compare your expectations with what’s achievable by the surgery. Also inquire about follow-up care needed, time required for recovery, physical therapy, etc.

2. The hospital: When selecting the international hospital that’s right for your needs, you should consider the hospital’s accreditation, awards and recognitions, facility and equipments, statistics like success rates, etc.

3. The surgeon: Check the certifications, training and repute of the surgeon who will be treating you.

4. The destination country: You should base your country selection on: quality, distance and cost.

KEEP YOUR LOCAL DOCTOR INFORMED

Always work with your local doctor and inform him about your decision to travel overseas for treatment. You may need his assistance prior to the surgery for furnishing the health records required by the international hospital and post surgery for any follow-up checks that may be required.

HAVE ALL YOUR IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN ORDER

Bring the following documents with you. For each document, make copies and leave one set of copies at a safe place at home.

1. Medical records: Medical records like X-Rays, MRI’s, health histories, photographs, immunization records, prescriptions, and any other health records relevant to the surgery. Remember to carry all these medical reports and any medicines in your carry-on luggage.

2. Passport and visa: You will need a passport for yourself and your travel companion (if any). Depending upon the country you are traveling to, you may or may not need a visa. Check with your destination country’s embassy for the same.

3. Credit cards, debit cards and travelers checks: Bring some local currency, travelers checks and one or two major credit cards and debit cards.

4. Driver’s license: Carry your driver’s license and make sure it will remain valid while you’re traveling.

KEEP IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION HANDY

Keep the following contact information handy:

1. Emergency contacts like relatives and friends

2. Destination embassy

3. Hospital

4. Hotel

5. Local surgeon / doctor

6. Employer

BE PREPARED TO STAY LONGER/SHORTER THAN EXPECTED

You should allow ample time for recovery after your surgery before you travel back home. So be prepared to stay longer as advised by your doctor. In some other cases you may not need to stay for as long as was expected.

WORK WITH A MEDICAL TOURISM COMPANY

Last but not the least, work with a medical tourism provider like Healthbase (http://www.healthbase.com). They are specialized facilitators that connect you with the hospital of your choice while providing all or some other valuable services like detailed information about various procedures, detailed hospital profiles and surgeon profiles, medical records transfer, free surgery quote, pre- and post-consultation with the overseas hospital, feedback and testimonials from previous patients, medical and dental loan financing, passport and visa, airport pick-up and drop-off, hospital escort, tickets, travel insurance, hotel booking, tourism services in the destination country, etc.

Due research and planning are vital to happy, safe and successful medical travel. Therefore, you must follow the above medical travel tips and do your homework before boarding the plane.

You can learn more about the growing trend of medical tourism, international healthcare facilities facilities and surgeons and the details of the medical tourism process by logging on to http://www.healthbase.com. Healthbase.com is a medical tourism facilitator committed to providing low-cost high quality medical travel services to the global medical consumer.

Originally published here.

Healthbase

Internet Marketing for Tourism

Tourism Board — Sat, 28 May 2011 19:21:59 +0000

Internet Marketing for Tourism

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Internet Marketing for Tourism

By: Mel Joelle
Posted: Jun 14, 2010

As a rule, internet marketing strategies are all inclusive in that most online business will engage in nearly all of the common strategies in order to publicize their business, such as SEO, Sponsored Search, Social Marketing, etc. It is important to note, however, that some strategies are more important for specific industries. Never has this been truer than with internet marketing strategies for tourism products.

Tourism is a unique business. Back in the days of brick and mortar businesses, most tourism products were sold through travel agencies. Airline flights, hotel bookings, car rentals and package tours were handled by a select group of trained professionals who took a fee for their service. As the internet continued to grow and ecommerce tools were developed, tourism was a natural fit for the internet. The ability to access millions of pieces of information instantaneously, track things like miles, and even plan complicated itineraries was made possible with just a few clicks of the mouse. Large national companies took advantage of this almost immediately, although recently, smaller companies that promote tourism products are beginning to emerge with some prominence.

It is these companies in particular that must learn to take advantage of internet marketing strategies for tourism products. Of all the popular online marketing tactics, there are four that all business owners promoting tourism products should focus extensively on.

1. Newsletters, Deals and Tweets — The ability to quickly send out short text like blogs of information regarding hot destinations, good deals and even changes in itineraries is vital for the tourism industry. By allowing quick and concise contact with potential clients, it is often possible to pique interest and get them to your site — the first step towards conversion
2. SEO / Article Marketing — writing fun and interesting articles about travel is easy. By creating interest generating pieces about exotic travel localities or little known travel tips, tourism web business owners can easily generate additional targeted traffic to their sites. Getting these articles indexed and ultimately ranked on major search engines will allow travel sites to target niche terms and acquire customers across the board with varied, but targeted, interests.
3. Content — While content is important for any web-based business, it is a critical tool for internet marketing for tourism products. Create interesting content about travel destinations, providing attractive information, and insider tips by providing content that is, not just keyword rich for the spiders, but full of information travelers will actually want to read about. Always remember that people will naturally want to research their chosen destination, so provide that information for them right on your site through well written and updated content.

RSS Feeds and API Integration –This is the reason sites such as Expedia.com and Orbitz.com were able to make millions of dollars in revenue. The rapid sharing of data across the globe enables travel sites, agencies, airlines and hotels to share the same information and conduct business.

Marketing tourism products and services online is very competitive and the right execution plan is necessary to be successful. This execution strategy involves hundreds of elements including but not limited to Search Engine Optimization, Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing, Sponsored Search, Banner Advertising and more. A full service internet marketing company can assist you in executing this complex marketing strategy.

You can call us at 1-800-736-9618

Mel Joelle – About the Author:

If you enjoyed this article, you also might like our other stories about Internet Marketing Company.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/viral-marketing-articles/internet-marketing-for-tourism-2633073.html

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Be at the Helm of Canada’s Tourism Industry in Hospitality and Tourism Administration

Tourism Board — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:16:59 +0000

Impressive numbers such as revenue in excess of $61.4-billion from 60,000 different companies that employ more than 1.66-million Canadians, could only come from one industry. Tourism. It is Canada’s second largest employment sector and the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council suggests that between 2006 and 2015, 290,690 new jobs will be created. Be at the top of the pay scale within this industry as a professional in Hospitality Administration.

A three-year offering at Centennial College, prepares you for an exciting profession in this field. To apply, applicants must present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. They must also possess compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent. The Hospitality and Tourism Administration program focuses on a very wide-range of business courses in marketing, human resources, industry operations and finance. However, these courses are taught in a manner that directly reflects the entire hospitality and tourism field. Specific course titles include: World Geographic Patterns, Introduction to Hospitality Accounting, Dimensions of Tourism, Hospitality and Tourism Marketing, Front Office Operations, Meeting and Convention Management, Hospitality Industry Issues and many, many more. Students supplement in-class training with practice at the college’s full-service hospitality management centre, on-site conference centre and state-of-the-art computer labs. Access to these practice facilities also readies students for their four-day per week, 15-week industry internship in the final semester of the Hospitality and Tourism Admin program. The individualized industry internship experience will provide a practical foundation for your career. Many students continue on as full-time employees at their internship placements. Students become competent in hospitality administration, tourism administration, and hospitality management program.

So where exactly can you find employment upon program graduation? Graduates of Centennial College are prepared to work in tourism and hospitality areas such as: hotel and restaurant general management, human resources management, sales and marketing management, convention services coordination and tour coordination. This wide range of areas makes it easy to find your niche but also change career paths if you choose to. Let’s take a look at what a couple of the options entail.

A competent general manager is essential to the success of any hotel. Although the job descriptions vary, certain requirements are similar across the board. Hotel managers are often in charge of leading hotel personnel and managers of various departments. They also act as liaisons between hotel guests and staff and may be called on to solve disputes. Lastly, hotel managers may oversee the daily fiscal workings of the facility. A good hotel manager must be comfortable working with numbers, managing various spreadsheets and budgets for different departments, and making important fiscal decisions. Another option in Hospitality and Tourism Administration is a hotel marketing manager. This person’s job is to finds creative ways to propel a hotel into the public realm to boost sales and productivity. To do this, he or she works with the hotel’s advertising and sales managers to promote services and amenities. Also, marketing managers learn what travelers want and estimate the cost of including those services.

Originally published here.

Jason

Be at the Helm of Canada’s Tourism Industry in Hospitality and Tourism Administration

Tourism Board — Wed, 18 May 2011 19:11:59 +0000

Originally published here.

Jason

Be at the Helm of Canada’s Tourism Industry in Hospitality and Tourism Administration

Tourism Board — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:06:59 +0000

Originally published here.

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Tourism Degree Courses Assure You a Prosperous Careeer

Tourism Board — Sun, 08 May 2011 19:02:59 +0000

Education is an integral part of an individual’s life. There are plenty of educational courses throughout the world, and each course comes with an assurance of a better life. Similarly, tourism degree courses are nowadays offering excellent opportunities for under-graduates as well as post-graduates. The distance learning courses are specially designed for the travel agents. However, they are also applicable for the travel and tourist professionals. Online tourism degree courses are also available such as hotel and resort reservations, airline travelm geography, business commumications and ground transportation. Distance learning courses are also offered in the form of certificate programs. Well, it also comes in the form of bachelor’s as well as master’s degree programs. For undergoing such a course, one should be equipped with the latest version of Microsoft Office, an e-mail id address, a Web browser and most importantly an Internet connection. Students coming from various backgrounds as well as form different parts of the globe opt for this online tourism degree course. The students just need to log in for getting connected to classmates as well as the instructor via emails, discussion boards and chatrooms. Various travel programs are also provided to sharpen the knowledge and skills of the aspitants. Internships are also provided which help students to gain first hand experience. There are also field based courses where students have to travel to various destinations for conferences and seminars. There are certain distance learning certificate programs that help to train students to become travel agents. However, there are also specialized courses that prepare them to work under a wide array of travel and tourism fields. Those who are taking trainings for travel agents must have a fair knowledge of the reservation systems such as Sabre, Apollo etc. There are various schools that allow students to connect to thses systems. With the help of certain travel and tourism degree programs, many students acquire training for various types of entry-level supervisors in the travel and tourism industry. Apart from offering efficient educational techniques, the tourism degree courses also bring various business courses like finance, management and communication. However, the students need to finish off an internship if they want to opt for this course. The course comprises event management, destination marketing, tourism planning and development, and a travel industry overview. Those who generally go for the distance learning bachelor degree program, often choose such management courses like lodging management, event management, club management etc. There are also distance learning master degree tourism programs These programs teach how to improve your knowledge and skills, especially for the top management positions in various travel industries. In this case, students generally choose courses like ecotourism, airline management, meeting management, destination management etc. There are some programs that require a thesis. However, there is also option for non-thesis programs. Tourism degree jobs are also available in abundance. Certain travel and tourism learning programs prepare students for building careers in numerous sectors such as hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, airlines, online travel companies, cruises etc. So, to make it short, tourism degree courses are not only plenty in number, but assures you of a bright and prosperous career.

Originally published here.

Roger Pointing

Affordable Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in the Philippines: Medical Tourism

Tourism Board — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:58:59 +0000

Cosmetic surgery tourism is a price driven phenomenon that has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few decades. Popular destinations for cosmetic surgery tourism include Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, and Thailand. What does the Philippines have to offer over other popular cosmetic surgery hotspots?

The primary advantage of having surgery done in the Philippines is the cost. Because of the present exchange rate (1 USD: 41 Pesos as of April 2008), the cost of plastic surgery in the Philippines is only a fraction of the cost in other countries particularly the United States and Europe. On the average, a typical breast augmentation will cost around 7000-8000 USD in the United States. In the Philippines, this will cost around 3000-4000 USD at the present market rate.

Although cost is a primary consideration, it should not be the only factor to determine one’s choice of surgeon. Wherever you are in the world, choosing the right plastic surgeon is the most important decision you will have to make. In the Philippines, there are a number of fully trained and highly skilled Plastic Surgeons who underwent formal training in plastic and reconstructive surgery. The Philippine Association of Plastic Recontructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, Inc (PAPRAS) is the only organization that accepts fellowship training for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. After training, they undergo certification by the Philippine Board of Plastic Surgery (PBPS) which is the only organization tasked by the Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS) to grant board certification in the field of Plastic Surgery.

State-of-the-art technology and professional medical expertise are offered by most Philippine hospitals and out-patient surgery centers. Patients can be assured of first class healthcare comparable to world class standards. Be sure to ask if the center is accredited by the Department of Health.

Filipinos are known to be cheerful, caring, and compassionate. They are warm and very hospitable. Nursing care provided by Filipinos in Britain is legendary as is in the United States. This holds the same for doctors. Their unique characteristics makes them excel in the healthcare industry.

The language barrier can be very frustrating especially for patients. Imagine trying to convey something to your surgeon and all he does is nod or shake his head. Most Filipinos are fluent in English. This is an important advantage in healthcare professions. Communication between patient and surgeon is of utmost importance during initial consultation as well as the post-operative period. It helps make the surgical experience a more “pleasurable” one.

Surgery in the Philippines offers distinct advantages to potential patients of cosmetic surgery. Low costs, highly qualified plastic surgeons, and world class facilities makes the Philippines a potential site in the cosmetic tourism industry.

Article by JOEL UNSON MD, a fully trained Plastic Surgeon from the Philippines. For more information on plastic surgery procedures in the Philippines, you may visit his website at http://plasticsurgery.unson.com

Other related articles: Cosmetic Surgery in the Philippines

Originally published here.

Joel Unson MD