by Dr. M V Jali
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020. Despite the slowdown due to rupee fluctuations, the Indian outbound numbers have been growing at an average annual growth rate of 10-12% over the last seven years.
Operators say that at present around 25 million tourists from India travel abroad — this implies that the number would double from current levels within the next two years, which is expected to exceed 100 million people by 2025, said the report titled ‘Inflection point for India Outbound Leisure travel’.
Number of Indians holidaying abroad to treble by 2025. However, things are changing in India, and Indians seem to be getting more adventurous and generous with their travel budgets.
As this article in Forbes notes: Encouraged by its pace-setting 7% GDP global growth rate, rising personal income levels and changing lifestyles, healthy middle class as well as the availability of low-cost airfares and different travel packages, India is rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world, second only to China. Travel market and medical tourism seeing a big leap in countries like India, Thailand, Singapore, and south-east Asian countries.
India is one of the six countries of the IDF SEA region. Four hundred twenty-five million people have diabetes in the world and 82 million people in the SEA Region; by 2045, this will rise to 151 million. There were over 72.946.400 cases of diabetes in India in 2017.
100% Growth in Diabetes Patients in India in the Last 15 Years.
The evidence shows that about 10 percent of people with diabetes experience problems with diabetes control when traveling, Many times, it becomes inevitable to move for a long haul by air, sea or road for some reasons of meeting children working away or a pleasure trip soon for individuals with diabetes or a pilgrimage to Mecca. Diabetes is bankrupting people in the country, often the reasonably well off, and mainly because of a lack of insurance. Few in India have health insurance, and among those who do, policies generally do not cover diabetes.
Middle-class diabetics often exhaust a quarter or more of their income on medications and care. It has become imperative to learn about a few of the challenges of diabetes and travel, and get tips for how to handle them from someone who’s lived — and traveled. There is no conclusive proof that those traveling with diabetes are more likely to become unwell during travel than those without diabetes. Many people with diabetes need to go with medication and medical devices and be able to access medical attention when needed. Careful pre-travel education and preparation should allow travelers with diabetes to enjoy a rewarding and pleasurable trip.
Tips for traveling with diabetes, including diet, going with medicines, travel vaccines, travel insurance, and air travel are brought in this issue for our readers. The trip can be fun, exciting and adventurous and having diabetes shouldn’t change that. So, if you have diabetes, it’s essential that you research, plan and prepare well in advance with a free discussion about your doubts with your treating physician, nutritionists and Vaccine providers. People with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can travel all over the world – diabetes is no barrier. Make the right preparations, and you should be able to minimize any potential problems.
About the Author: Dr. M V Jali, FRCP(London), FRCP(Edin), FRCP(Glasgow)
Chief Editor, Diabetes Doctor (Madhumeha-Vaidya Professor of Diabetology, KAHER J N Medical College
Medical Director & CE, KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital & Medical Research Centre Belagavi 590010
