NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Delhi, India, 05/06/2008 - This report gives an overview of the medical tourism industry with its growth drivers and trends. It discusses the main medical tourist destinations of Asia and their respective competitive advantages.

Medical or health tourism is among the fastest growing industries in the world. The major forces driving growth of this emerging industry include the rising cost of healthcare and limiting scope of insurance coverage in developed countries, increasing waiting time for treatments, and low cost of treatments elsewhere.

Medical tourism market is characterized by tough competition in the Asian countries. Health system in Singapore is ranked as the best in Asia and amongst the best in the world. The country is well known for quality medicine and state-of-the art medical care. Growth in the medical tourism sector in Thailand has been largely led by the private sector. The number of foreign patients in Malaysia is projected to grow at a rate of about 25-30 percent until 2010. India, on the other hand, offers medical treatment at the lowest cost along with providing alternate therapies like yoga, ayurveda, aromatherapy, and acupuncture.

Thailand is the only country which is faced with tough competition from both ends, low-cost treatments from India and Malaysia as well as high-end medical services from Singapore. In the meantime, price difference between Singapore and Thailand is also reducing at a significant rate. All the leading hospitals in Asian countries are getting themselves accredited by international associations.

The report broadly includes the following:

1. Medical Tourism: An Overview

2. Market Overview
2.1 Worldwide

Market Value
2.2 Asia

Major Healthcare Groups
Comparative Cost of Treatment

2.3 Thailand
Inflow of Foreign Patients
Revenue from Foreign Patients
Medical Tourists by Country

2.3.2 Malaysia
Tourist Arrivals Growth
Health Expenditure

2.3.3 Singapore
Inflow of Foreign Patients

2.3.4 India
Breakdown of Foreign Tourists by Purpose of Visit Tourists Arrivals
Major Players in Medical Tourism Industry

3. Market Drivers
3.1 Outsourcing of Patients by Insurers
3.2 Quality of Treatment

4. Key Issues
4.1 Rising Value of Indian Currency
4.2 Upgradation of Infrastructure
4.3 Co-ordination Between Healthcare and Tourism Sectors
4.4 Standardization in Pricing
4.5 Impact on Domestic Healthcare Services
4.6 Other Risks in Medical Tourism

5. Company Profiles

5.1 Bumrungrad Hospital
5.2 Bangkok Hospital Medical Center
5.3 Apollo Hospitals
5.4 Wokhardt Hospital
5.5 Parkway Hospitals

List of Charts
Medical Tourism - Service Network
Worldwide Medical Tourism Market (2004-12E)
Thailand - Inflow of Foreign Patients (2000-2010E)
Thailand - Revenue from Foreign Patients (2000-2010E)
Thailand - Medical Tourists by Country of Origin
Malaysia - Tourist Arrivals Growth (2002-07)
Malaysia - Health Expenditure (Public versus Private)
Singapore - International Patient Inflow (2001-06)
India – SWOT Analysis

List of Tables
Major Healthcare Groups in Asia
Comparative Cost of Treatment in Asian Countries
Ratio of Medical Care Resources to Population in Asian Countries
India - Major Players in Medical Tourism Industry
India - Breakdown of Foreign Tourists by Purpose of Visit
India - Breakdown of NRIs by Purpose of Visit
India - Tourists Arrivals (2001-07)
Exchange Rate for INR against USD (2007)

JCI Accredited Hospitals in Major Asian Countries.

Agency / Source: Koncept Analytics

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