Marketing Indian medical tourism to Muslim patients in an Islamic way

The booming medical tourism market provides a unique opportunity for the Indian tourism industry. Medical tourism in India is attracting patients from around the world for medical treatment combined with a leisurely vacation. Medical tourism requires medical intervention with modern high- technology where the patient travels out of the country for treatment. This paper suggests that there is a potential market of Muslim medical tourists residing in various Islamic and developed countries. As a medical tourism destination, India enjoys a cultural sensitivity along with lower costs and high quality health care services. In medical tourism, complex cultural practices and needs of the patient have to be understood and delivered beyond patients’ expectations. The focus of our conceptual paper is on the marketing of Indian medical tourism to Muslim patients in a way that is acceptable to Islam. A focus on Muslim medical tourists will help India to establish a niche market segment in the area of medical tourism.