The IRCTC or Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation is hoping to capitalise on the burgeoning wellness tourism industry in India by providing consumers with affordable medical treatment packages.
According to a press statement by the Indian railways on Friday, the nation has emerged as one of the most desirable Asian destinations for medical value tourism and has built a unique environment for holistic health.
According to the Indian Institute for Public Administration, India would have a 6 percent share of the worldwide market for healthcare value tourism by 2023. This is based on the 6.97 million medical tourists that travelled to India in 2019.
With so many hospitals and clinics in operation throughout India, IRCTC saw a need to help patients choose the best one for them, taking into account factors like location, availability, and cost.
The IRCTC has lately begun providing virtual care tourism packages for its clients as part of an effort to diversify the types of services it offers.
It said that housing accommodations, road transfers, and optional well-being packages after treatment are all included to give a more complete experience of the medicinal benefits of travel.
The packages are being offered by the IRCTC at "very competitive" costs because of the large number of hospitals, nursing homes, and diagnostic centers that are arraigned with its technical partner.
On a trial basis, it is teaming up with an online provider of medico-technical services to provide comprehensive back-end support to consumers who purchase a range of healthcare and wellness plans.
A consumer may access the service by visiting the IRCTC's tourist site at irctctourism.com/MedicalTourism and completing a brief inquiry form detailing their treatment requirements.
After the client has submitted an inquiry, a member of the IRCTC staff will give them a call to go through their treatment choices in detail, taking into account both their time and financial constraints.
The firm has held a product sensitisation session for its officials and personnel in different zonal and regional offices throughout India, and it is actively promoting its medical tourism project via this network.
(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)
First Published: Nov 24, 2022 10:30 PM IST
