BANGALORE: Advantage Healthcare India 2017 (www.ahcindia.in), the third international summit on medical value travel (medical tourism) jointly organized by FICCI, Dept. of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India, and Service Export Promotion Council (SEPC), will be held at Bengaluru from October 12-14, 2017.

The launch of the mega event was officially announced by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon'ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India, in the presence of Smt. Rita Teaotia, Secretary, Sh.Sudhanshu Pandey, Joint Secretary, and Dr. Anup Wadhawan, Additional Secretary with Dept. of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry; Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI; Dr. Naresh Trehan, President, SEPC, and other dignitaries.

Advantage Healthcare India 2017 is meant to promote India as a premier global healthcare destination and enable streamlined health care services exports. Over 70 countries and 600 hosted buyers from Africa, Middle East, Europe, US, UK, and Asia (including SAARC) would participate, with thousands of international and national business visitors.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, said: “Medical value travel can be a USD 9 billion opportunity for India by 2020. To fully exploit this potential, the country needs to diversify its sources of medical tourism and create a strong value proposition for foreign patients by focusing on perimeters like cost effectiveness, alternate medicine, clinical outcomes, tourism friendliness, accreditation, and patient centricity. Advantage Healthcare India 2017 will bring Indian healthcare providers and global healthcare stakeholders under one roof. It will showcase India’s medical capabilities and create opportunities for healthcare collaboration between India and other nations to boost healthcare services exports. The last two summits have been a great success, and I look forward to the 2017 event being a great facilitator and enabler of Indian medical tourism.”

The medical value travel (MVT) industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing segments of Indian tourism industry. According to a FICCI-IMS report, more than 500,000 foreign patients seek treatment in India each year, making it a key medical tourism destination in Asia. However, coordinated efforts are required by key stakeholders to turn India into “The Provider to the World” and accelerate MVT growth from the existing 15% to 25%. The Indian medical tourism industry gets maximum patients for heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care, as the cost of treatment here is considered the lowest in Asia, much lower than Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Advantage Healthcare India 2017, spread across three days, will have more than 40 speakers, 600 hosted buyers and over 5,000 business visitors. The exhibition will host more than 160 exhibitors to showcase medical services and expertise. Thousands of reverse buyer-seller meetings will offer opportunities for tie-ups with Indian hospitals and healthcare centres for medical tourism.

A Roundtable Session with Health Ministers from select countries will be organized to discuss issues encompassing medical value travel and formulate the way forward. They will also visit the Exhibition. The event will showcase India’s medical devices sector to encourage foreign companies to start manufacturing locally with Indian partners. Internationally renowned Indian doctors and AYUSH experts will deliver lectures on different topics.

A key highlight of the event will be Medical Value Travel Awards 2017 which will recognize and showcase innovations which have helped promote India as a premier medical travel destination.

Participants at Advantage Healthcare India 2017 would include international hospitals, government organizations, insurance firms, medical tourism organizations, global medical associations, medical journalists, doctors, and investors.

Advantage Healthcare India 2017 supporting partners include EEPC India and Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil).