Question

Session 7: Video Discussion

Watch Video

Medical Tourism Marketing: Destination Branding

Duration: 2:09
User: n/a - Added: 9/16/13

Discussion Question:

After watching the video, identify your reactions to the lessons you just learned. Provide a substantive response using a real world example, and relate your answer to a concept you learned from your text.

Answer 1

Medical tourism- the concept of traveling far and wide for better medical treatment is not a novel idea, only the term. The globalization of the health care sector and the massive demand for low cost-high quality treatment in recent times has caught the attention of many developing countries that have the adequate resources and potential to meet these demands. The profitability and the lucrative nature of the medical tourism business has now put this trade, high on the agenda of both the Indian government and the private health care providers.

Today, medical tourism has become a commonplace practice with a large number of people around the world since usual constraints like language, finance, difficulties in global travel and fear of the unknown are no longer acting as barriers to the tourists who seek medical treatment in foreign countries. Countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia etc have developed strategies specifically with the aim of tackling such issues and rendering themselves as the ideal medical tourism destinations.

Although India is emerging as the ‘hot-spot’ medical tourism destinations within the Asia-Pacific and other regions of the world, it seems to be facing tough competition from other big players of this industry who have projected an equally good reputation for themselves and are reaping the benefits of this business. Therefore, it is imperative for India to continuously rethink and reform its marketing strategies to gain competitive advantage and increase its market share in the health care sector.

It is an undisputed fact that medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry and creating inroads into the Indian economy. There are a large number of stake holders in this industry in South East Asia including countries like Singapore and Malaysia. There are various marketing strategies being used for propagating this industry. My endeavor would be to seek the gaps that exist and suggest remedial action.

Being from the medical fraternity and having had the opportunity to treat a number of overseas patients, the concept of medical tourism has generated a great deal of interest in me. I believe that there are some deficiencies in the marketing strategies for health tourism in India that need to be looked into and improvised. The aim of my research would be to propose marketing strategies that would boost the Indian Medical Tourism for the future.