PANJIM: Claiming that Goa is a viable destination for medical tourism, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) has urged the State government to support the initiative by withdrawing some taxes while also promoting Goa as centre of health tourism across the globe.
“There is need for the government to support such initiatives in medical tourism by giving incentives in the form of lower taxation. They need to remove some taxes like luxury tax, etc to boost this sector. The other aspect is marketing Goa as a centre of excellence in medicine and services related to health tourism,” TTAG President Ralph D’Souza said in a conversation with Herald.
Asked whether medical tourism in Goa is capable to compete with the same concept already existing in Kerala, he conceded that the southernmost state is in no competition to Goa.
“Let us be clear. Kerala is no competition to Goa. They may be strong in Ayurveda but it alone is not sufficient to sustain tourism. You need the right environment which is available in Goa,” he elucidated.
The TTAG opines that Goa is ideally suited for this kind of tourism in addition to promoting hinterland, adventure, religious and family tourism besides wedding and honeymoon destination amongst other.
“I feel Goa is ideal suited for post operative recuperation where hotels with medical facilities could attract business. But we need to enhance the standards of our hospital to match the international bench marks,” he added.
Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Goa Victor Albuquerque has been a pioneer in this field as he has also ventured in Ayurveda.
Targeting foreign tourists especially the Europeans, the tourism stakeholders state that India provides reasonable and quality medical tourism compared to other countries.
