By Praveen Prabhakar
Posted on
Medical Tourism will accelerate the growth of Kerala: Swami Gururethnam Jnana Thapaswi
Thiruvananthapuram: “Kerala has not fully utilized the potential of medical tourism yet. Our state can flourish further in medical tourism sector if we integrate the services of traditional Indian medicine systems and speciality hospitals. It would help to generate job opportunities and to bring more revenue to the state. Medical tourism can play a pivotal role in the development of Kerala,” opined Santhigiri Ashram Organizing Secretary Swami Gururethnam Jnana Thapaswi. 
He was inaugurating MediBiz Ayur Home, the first Indian medical tourism network promoted by MediBiz TV, near Thiruvambadi Beach, Varkala. MediBiz TV is the first global TV channel for the healthcare sector.
Leading NRI entrepreneur Sohan Roy launched MediBiz Ayur Home as part of the efforts to develop Kerala into an international medical tourism destination.
Improve Infrastructure
“Medical tourism should go hand in hand with health tourism. Traditional Indian medicine systems especially Ayurveda and Siddha play a crucial role in medical tourism. Even though Kerala has immense potential in medical tourism sector due to lack of world-class infrastructure facilities, the state is far behind. To augment Kerala’s further development the state government should take effective steps to capitalize the benefits of medical tourism said Aries Group Chairman cum CEO Sohan Roy.
“By 2020, medical tourism industry of India is expected to touch USD 8 billion. Our state contributes only five per cent now, it can be increased to 10 to 12 per cent,” he added.
Medical Tourism: Future of Kerala
Meanwhile Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) Chairman M Vijayakumar emphasized that medical tourism will decide future development of Kerala. “We can give quality health care packages at affordable rates to tourists. However to reach out to customers proper marketing campaigns across the country and abroad are imperative. In addition to these awareness seminars, camps, road shows should also be conducted to educate people about the benefits of medical tourism,” he said.
Novel Projects Vital
“Tourism is an important factor that contributes to the economical development of Kerala. Our state tops in health tourism sector in the country. In order to implement novel projects like medical tourism in speedy manner, government and investors should join hands,” said Tourfed Managing Director Shaji Madhavan. Development of basic infrastructure and hygienic conditions are also equally important he added.
Varkala MLA V Joy, renowned entrepreneur J Rajmohan Pillai, Chairman of Beta Group and eminent personalities from socio, cultural, political and business attended the function.
Medibiz Ayur Excellence Awards Distributed
The first Medibiz Ayur Excellence Awards, accredited by the World Medical Council, were distributed on the occasion. Medibiz Ayur Excellence Awards is an honour to medical associations, hospitals, resorts, holistic services, medical publications and organic food network for their valuable contributions towards healthcare sector.
Dr. P. R. Krishna Kumar, Managing Director of Coimbatore-based The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy was bestowed with Lifetime Achievement award – Ayur Vibhushan for his outstanding services to Ayurveda sector. While Dr. Krishnan and Mohanan Vaidyar were honoured with Ayur Bhushan award respectively for their contributions to traditional Indian medicine systems.
