Bangladesh's Unrest Threatens India's Medical Tourism

The socio-political unrest in Bangladesh is impacting medical tourism to India, potentially reducing footfall by 10-15% and affecting revenues for specialized hospitals. Bangladesh accounts for 50-60% of India’s medical tourism inflow. Despite this, India's industry remains robust due to strong financial resilience and growth in overall medical tourism.

The socio-political unrest in Bangladesh has significantly impacted the influx of medical tourists to India. According to a recent report by CareEdge Ratings, this disruption could lead to a 10-15% drop in footfall from Bangladesh this year.

Bangladesh, which contributes 50-60% of India's total medical tourism inflow, has seen many patients cancel or postpone their medical visits. This decline is attributed to ongoing internal challenges within the country.

CareEdge Ratings highlights that if the instability continues, the reduction in medical tourists could persist into 2024. While individual hospitals heavily reliant on Bangladeshi patients may suffer revenue losses, larger multi-location hospitals are expected to remain relatively unaffected due to their diverse patient base.

(With inputs from agencies.)