The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Western Region Council (WRC) has set up a task force for the promotion of medical and health tourism in the state of Maharashtra. Foundations of the project have already been laid, with the task force consisting of the government of Maharashtra, medical education and drugs department of Maharashtra, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), travel agents and tour operators and representatives from hospitals and medical research centres.

The aim of this project is to tap the potential of the cost effective medical treatment offered by Maharashtra simultaneously show-casing it as an ideal tourism product. This project will structure special itineraries for both domestic and international tourists who are interested in availing of any kind of medical treatment in the state of Maharashtra. A complete tourism package would be offered according to the destination of the chosen hospital or medical centre where the treatment would take place. Transport facilities including land and air arrangements, hotel accommodation, etc will also be looked after. Sight seeing tours of noted tourist attractions of that destination would be part of the itinerary for those wishing to combine their treatment with leisure. These customised packages aim to optimise the value gained by the tourist by delivering dual benefits of medical facilities along with a leisure holiday plan.

Says wing commander Anil M Gadkary, director, FICCI (WRC), “This is our dream project and we hope to get the support of all the service providers of the industry. This project indeed will give a major boost to the tourism and hospitality industry of Maharashtra. We have received a positive response from MTDC who will jointly work with us on this promotion.”

Starting with Mumbai and Pune, the project is scheduled to take off by the end of 2003. The FICCI team is currently in the process of conducting extensive research to strengthen the back end support of this venture. The state of Goa and its tourism division has also shown keen interest in initiating a similar scheme. Reports reveal that they may join hands with Maharashtra to promote an entire tourism circuit.