Financial Times

Health tourism – new fad in travel
By Quintus Perera
Jolted by the tsunami, the tourist industry in Sri Lanka is now exploring the prospects of diversifying into other areas of tourism such as eco and health tourism.

With large qualitative hospitals coming up in the city and the availability of modern equipment and expertise on par with international standards and norms, some of these medical institutions are now fully geared to tackle health checks coupled with a holiday for overseas visitors.

Industry sources said that this type of tourism could be very popular as medical treatment and check-ups are relatively cheaper than in the west.
Chammika De Silva, Marketing Manager, Apollo Hospitals said that as a matter of comparison if a by-pass heart operation is to be done in a western country it would cost somewhere around 3.5 million in rupee terms but if it is done in Apollo with all the attendant luxuries for a foreign guest it would be around Rs 850,000. For a Sri Lankan it would cost around Rs 350,000.

De Silva said that around 25 percent of the total medical check-ups are for foreign tourists. He said that many tourists now travel abroad and they prefer to get their medical check-ups done while they are on holiday as it would be cheaper and absolutely convenient.

He said that in countries like England certain surgeries are not covered in their country’s medical insurance and also for some treatment there is a long waiting time. He said that the cost for these medical check-ups in countries like Sri Lanka, India or Thailand would be about 1/10 or 1/5th of the cost that would have to be incurred in the countries of origin of tourists.

Nishantha Jayamanne, Group Marketing Manager, Asiri Hospitals Group of Companies noted that the hospital group is now fully positioned to attend to medical check-ups for foreign travellers and they too see quite a number of foreign tourists for these check-ups.

He said that not only foreign nationals, but also Sri Lankan expatriates on holiday in Sri Lanka are also getting their medical tests attended to in Sri Lanka and saving an enormous amount of money.

Medical check-ups and some costs:
Asiri Hospitals Group of Companies: Comprehensive Health Check Rs 2,500, Well Woman Health Check Rs 5,500, Well Man Health Check Rs 4,250, Heart Health Check Rs 5,000, Cancer screening Health check Rs 6,500 to Rs 8,500; Stroke Prevention Health check Rs 5,000 and Diabetic Health check Rs 2,500.

Apollo Hospitals: Apollo Health Check -Haemogram, Biochemical Parametres, Lipid Profile, Liver Function Tests and General Tests Rs 5,000; Apollo Executive Health Check Rs 7,000; Apollo Heart Check Rs 8,250; Apollo Whole Body Check Rs 13,000; Apollo Well Woman Rs 4,000 and Apollo Diabetic Check Rs 5,000.

Nawaloka Hospitals Ltd: Basic Health Check Rs 1,350; General Health Check Rs 2,400; Intermediate Health Check Rs 3,200; Super Health Check Rs 4,800; Diabetes Screening Rs 2,100; Executive Health Check – Junior Rs 6,000, Deluxe Rs 17,000 and Super Deluxe Rs 30,000; Well Women Clinic Rs 3,500.

Oasis Hospital: Standard Health Check Rs 3,000; Pulmonary Check Rs 2,350; Renal Check Rs 5,000; Liver Check Rs 5,000; Diabetis Screening package Rs 7,500; Heart Check Rs 8,000; Comprehensive Health Check- Women Rs 10,000; Comprehensive Health Check – Men Rs 13,000; Well Women package Rs 5,000 and Paediatric & Infant Health Check Rs 650.

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