SUN, SEA, STETHOSCOPE & START-UPS

MEDICAL TOURISM WAS A WAYS POPULAR IN INDIA BUT NOW START-UPS ARE ENTERING THE FRAY OFFER TO OFFER END-TO-END SOLUTIONS FOR VISA, TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, DOCTOR/ HOSPITAL RANKINGS-ALL SQUEEZED INTO ONE SINGLE PACKAGE

- ASHISH RUKHAIYAR

JAHID HASNAT, 64, WAS IN A FIX. The Dhaka resident, who was suffering from cardiac and urology-related ailments, couldn’t decide where to travel to for treatment. Medical facilities in Bangladesh were not up to the mark and an earlier visit to Singapore had burnt a huge hole in his pocket. India was an option, but a previous visit had resulted in a bitter experience.

He approached Healthport Bangladesh, an international medical treatment service provider, which put him in touch with HealthTrip, a Delhi-based start-up specialising in medical tourism in India. “A person picked us up at the airport and assisted us in getting a hotel and finally the hospital appointments and tests,” says a relieved Hasnat. “Everything was smooth and much better than our previous trip when we didn’t know where to go after landing in India,” he says, adding that the start-up offered him an all-in-one package.

Hasnat isn’t alone. As many as 495,056 people visited India for medical treatment in 2017, says government data. While the latest statistics are not available, government data for 2020 shows that Bangladesh accounted for nearly 55 per cent of all foreigners coming to India for medical purposes. It was followed by people from Iraq, Maldives, Afghanistan, and Oman. Globally, the medical tourism market is booming. According to a report by research firm Global Market Insights, the size of the market globally was over $10 billion in 2020 and set to grow at a CAGR of more than 12 per cent to breach the $37 billion mark by 2027. It is no wonder that start-ups have spotted the opportunity and jumped in.

A BOOMING SEGMENT