Medical Tourism Under Mode II of GATS (WTO) : Opportunities, Challenges and Entrepreneurial Strategies in Gujarat

Medical tourism is one of the major sectors amongst the trade in services that has been growing significantly the world over particularly with the establishment of General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) under WTO. This sector falls under Mode II - known as “Consumption Abroad” of GATS. India is the cynosure of Medical Tourists (MTs) amongst its competing countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Hong Kong, Philippines, Cuba, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Lithuania, etc. Ahmedabad in the State of Gujarat is one of the major centres in India, in addition to Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkatta, etc., where MTs have been coming for treatment in growing numbers. An attempt has been made in this paper to analyze the opinions and ratings for the quality and cost of various medical facilities availed by these MTs who had visited various hospitals in Ahmedabad for their treatment from various parts of the world e.g., US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, Korea, UAE, Africa, Sri Lanka, etc. In addition, the paper defines and describes the various issues related to medical tourism, such as GATS and Mode II-Consumption Abroad; Medical tourism with its historical perspective, its present scenario and reasons for medical travel; Opportunities and challenges for this sector of Indian industry and suggests the strategy i.e. entrepreneurial responsiveness and policy implications so that the Gujarat State as also the nation as a whole could get a larger pie of this growing global trade in services