Leading corporate hospital chain Fortis Healthcare is looking to garner 9-10 per cent of its revenues from medical tourism over the next three years, a top official said.
“I would expect that it will be in higher single digits or 10 per cent,” Fortis Chief Executive, Domestic Operations, Mr Aditya Vij told PTI when asked about the company’s plans for medical tourism.
Mr Vij said that at present, medical tourism constitutes 7 per cent of the revenue of the billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh—promoted company.
He stressed that the share of medical tourism in the company’s revenue will rise, as Fortis has targeted continuous annual growth of 30 per cent during the next three years.
Medical tourism typically denotes serving overseas patients looking for cheaper treatment options or better infrastructure. Factors like a depreciating rupee, as observed last week, are bound to make the business more profitable.
Mr Vij said that apart from developed countries, Fortis will be looking at getting patients from Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa.
However, he added that though the revenue share from medical tourism will go up, the company’s focus will be on the domestic market.
Fortis, which recently announced plans to open hospitals in Tier-II and III cities, is looking to commission the first of the low-cost hospitals early next year, Mr Vij said.
He added the company will be completing its planned roll-out in 25 cities in the next three years. “The idea is to take medical care to where people are. We want to bring healthcare to more and more people who today have to commute long distances to get decent medical care. We already have identified a few locations,” said the Fortis chief executive.
At present, Fortis has 51 operational hospitals spread across the country, while 15 more are under construction. Once the construction is complete, its capacity will go up to 10,600 beds.
Mr Vij said the company is scouting for acquisitions and will continue to look at such options for growth. The company’s vision is to adopt an asset-light approach and Fortis will be looking at partnerships with those having real estate, Mr Vij said.
It will tie up with the real estate owner, build a hospital and run it, he explained, stating that such a model will be especially helpful in its tier-II and tier-III foray.