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As service exports edged towards $ 3 b, Sri Lanka’s apex export body EDB stepped up its efforts to open a new forex source on 11 September.
The 2015-’20 National Masterplan Initiative on Medical Tourism has taken off, spearheaded by the EDB.
“Professional service exports present a tremendous opportunity and can speed up the Government’s ‘$ 20 b exports by 2020’ goal. Medical tourism is one of the most promising sub-sectors in this. We are ready to work with any and all stakeholders to get this off the ground,” said EDB DG Sujatha Weerakoone last week.
Weerakoone was addressing the kick-off session of EDB’s 2015-’20 National Masterplan Initiative on Medical Tourism held at the EDB on 11 September.
The pioneering session saw top reps from Hemas Hospitals, Asiri Group of Hospitals, Lanka Hospitals, Durdans Hospital, Nawaloka Hospitals PLC and the Health Ministry as well as EDB ICT Sector Director M.K.S.K. Maldeniya joining the session.
The private sector reps also represent Sri Lanka’s Private Hospital Association (PHA). PHA hosts the majority of Sri Lanka’s private hospitals, nursing homes and private healthcare providers as its members. 55% of country’s outpatients and 15% of the country’s in-house patients are treated by members of PHA – the rest being treated by State sector hospitals and healthcare facilities.
The global medical tourism industry annual turnover is not definitive but Patients Beyond Borders, the oft-referenced consumer information source about international medical and health travel, estimates the worldwide medical tourism market to be $ 47 b by 2014 (median value, $ 55 b at highest), growing 20% annually with 11 m cross-border patients worldwide, and $ 4,250 median spending per visit. These visit costs “include all medically-related costs, cross-border and local transport, inpatient stay and accommodations.”
Speaking on the promise of medical tourism at the February 2014 launch event of Intrad 2014 & Arogya 2014 at the Hilton Colombo, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen said: “With only a per capita healthcare expenditure of $ 175, at first Sri Lanka does not appear to have an advanced healthcare infrastructure similar to the developed countries. But due to the support of well-trained, high quality healthcare professionals, availability of treatment centres as well as pharmaceuticals, we are witnessing the emergence of a new sector, that is medical tourism, contributing to our service exports. Studies show that around 15% of patients in Sri Lanka are foreign patients, such as from the Maldives. The EDB believes that medical tourism is a promising service sector to drive our foreign exchange earnings.”
EDB DG Weerakoone speaking at the 11 September session added: “Realising the importance of medical tourism, the EDB, which strongly believes in Private-Public Partnership approach, has decided to implement the first-ever national initiative to rally the healthcare providers as well as stakeholders and formulate a common voice for the 2015-’20 National Masterplan Initiative on Medical Tourism. I am pleased to see all the leading private hospitals represented at today’s session. We need to map out such factors as availability of hospital facilities, accreditations, specialisations, ‘centre of excellence’ areas, post-surgery and wellness packages, packages medical tourism as well as tie ups with global medical travel facilitators. The EDB can shape the future roadmap of this sector based on the collective voice healthcare operators.”
The private healthcare reps at the session pledged prompt support, declaring this to be a ‘much-needed initiative’.
Lanka Hospitals CEO Dr. Lakith Peiris, addressing the session, said: “We are very happy that the EDB is taking a lead role in this much-needed initiative, especially at a time when many medical tourism destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, etc., are competing and out-pricing themselves. The PHA is a good starting point and together with the EDB, a master plan for the country’s medical tourism could be developed. This initiative can also help bring high net worth tourists instead of budget tourists and the ‘wellness medical tourism’ is a huge growth area. Through EDB we can make the stakeholders understand how important medical tourism is.”
Weerakoone stressed: “A Medical Tourism Committee and formal link with PHA could be priority steps in this effort. EDB is ready to allocate prominent space in its web portal’s ‘service exports’ section for this initiative.”
According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, apart from tourism and foreign worker remittances, Sri Lanka’s total service export revenues surged by 7.5% to $ 2.9 b in 2013-60% derived from ‘transport’ (non-domestic), 24% from ICT/BPO services, 12% from both financial and insurance services and 3% from such sectors as ‘construction’ and ‘other businesses’.
At the 11 September session, Weerakoone and the participants also mulled various other options on how to position Sri Lanka’s medical tourism in the $ 47 b global industry.
