Kerala takes health route to wealth

IN GOD'S OWN COUNTRY: Kerala's medical tourism is a bubble waiting to burst.

What is medical tourism
	Medical tourism is the latest buzzword in the tourism parlance used to describe a growing number of people worldwide who travel abroad for healthcare. The word was coined when people started looking outside the facilities in the Western countries for cheaper medical treatment with international quality - essentially a 'cost effective' private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry of the country.
Who are these tourists
	Medical tourism is increasingly becoming one of the most preferred form of vacationing as it mixes fun and relaxation with wellness and healthcare. There are, essentially, two types of medical tourists - leisure tourists who visit the doctor/therapist for some minor treatment as part of his or her vacation and the tourist travelling specifically for medical treatment.
Some popular medical tourism hotspots
	Kerala, Thailand and Singapore.

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The history of south India can be traced back to over 2,000 years. However, it was only 50 years ago when the four southern states were created along linguistic lines.

CNN-IBN unveils the changing face of south India and celebrates the Dravidian spirit in a special series The Golden South.

Thiruvananthapuram: Tourism industry has always been the backbone of Kerala's economy.

With visitors from world over thronging to admire the scenic beauty of the famous backwaters, there’s a bubble waiting to burst in God’s own country.

Medical tourism is the buzzword in Kerala and the state government seems to have cracked the winning combination of fun and well.

For many tourists like 50-year-old Clay Andersson from Carolina, Kerala is already a winner.

Anderson came to Kerala hoping for a relaxed holiday. But groin pains from hernia sent him looking for a reliable surgeon. He found one in Kerala, at one-fifth of what it would have cost him back home, without having to sacrifice his holiday.

“Tourism is already established in Kerala and people come for that, combine it with possibilities of medicines and Kerala is a clear winner,” says Anderson.

Apart from many indigenous cures, herbal therapies and healing procedures, Ayurveda seems to have struck a healthy chord with the patients.

The rapid mushrooming of Ayurveda centres and resorts have given the modern medical practitioners a serious run for their money.

“People come to India because of Ayurveda as it’s expensive in Germany. Moreover, Ayurveda is done by doctors who are from India. Ayurveda and herbal treatments are the future of Kerala,” says German tourist, Hans Nowak.

The Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Thiruvananthapuram had about 450 international patients in 2003. Last year, the figure swelled up to nearly 4,700.

However, the fall in public health infrastructure, witnessed by the recent Chikungunya outbreak raised fears of this boom going kaput in the wings.

“I will not go for medical tourism where you have chikunguniya and dengue. I need to have good environment. So Kerala should look at its infrastructure, environment, pollution levels and waste management. If this is dealt, there won't be any problem for medical tourism,” says Chief Managing Director of KIMS, M I Sahadullah.

A boom in medical tourism is undoubtedly round the corner, but unless the state administration gets its public health functions right, it will only remain a bubble waiting to burst.

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