Medical Tourism Awareness and its Potential to Excel in Developing Cities: A Case Study of Mangalore City

Abstract

Medical Tourism, a sector still in an infancy stage in India forms a part of the global Medical Tourism corridor and is acknowledged on the itinerary of a medical tourist. This paper intends to explore the scope of Medical Tourism in developing cities of India. It aims to investigate the reasons for low medical tourism penetration despite possessing all the competitive advantages vital for a medical tourism destination. A survey conducted at 21 hospitals in Mangalore uncovered the extent of awareness among healthcare workers and initiatives taken by the healthcare industry to outperform in this sector. Simple random sampling was employed to arrive at the sample size and the Chi-square test was applied to analyze the data. The findings reveal promotion as a crucial element for awareness creation and show a clear linkage between awareness and the potential of Medical Tourism. The paper presents healthcare practitioners and tour operators with an insight into Medical Tourism in developing cities like Mangalore and the effective strategies imperative to excel in this sector. This study evaluates if developing cities of India have the potential to be promoted as Medical Tourism hubs reaping benefits to the economy of India.