Tag Archives: Pakistan

According to data provided by Ministry of Home Affairs, the number of medical visas issued by India in 2016 rose by 45 per cent over 2015. India issued more than 1.78 lakh medical visas in 2016, including for follow up treatment, as against 1.22 lakh in 2015, according to the data. A Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) report titled “India Services Sector—A Multi-trillion Dollar Opportunity for Global Symbiotic Growth 2017” stated that the presence of world-class hospitals and skilled medical professionals has strengthened India’s position as a preferred destination for medical tourism. Treatment for major surgeries in India costs only a fraction—in some cases as low as 10 per cent of that in developed countries. “Majority of the patients coming to India for treatment are from the Middle East, Africa, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Maldives, Pakistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. India’s cost advantage will significantly open doors to the US and Europe over future, due to lower cost than the US and almost half that of Europe.” Dental tourism accounts for 10 per cent of the medical tourism and the government is keen to promote it. “India provides competitive cost advantage at one tenth of the cost of the US and Europe. By 2020, medical tourism industry of India is expected to touch $8 billion,” the report said. Source: Livemint

Viset Sontichai, Director, Indian Sub-Continent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Nepal), Thai Airways, has revealed that Thai Smile will start operations from Ahmedabad and Chandigarh to Bangkok very soon. However, Sontichai, who has recently taken over operations for the Indian Sub-continent, did not reveal any dates for this route as yet. But, he said that they are planning to launch the new route to cater to the growing Tier-II and Tier-III markets. He also said that among the new connections from India, they are planning to connect UK from Bangkok via India. However, instead of London they are planning to connect Manchester and Birmingham. He also revealed that they are planning to also start a flight from Islamabad to Manchester by the end of this year.