Medical Tourism in India

Why in News?

Recently, India witnessed an increase in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) for medical purposes between January and April 2025, highlighting a sharp surge in medical tourism as per data from the Ministry of Tourism.

What is medical tourism?

• Definition – It refers to the practice of traveling to another country to receive medical, dental, or other healthcare services.
• Process

What is the status of medical tourism in India?

• Increasing influxes – India recorded 1, 31,856 foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) for medical purposes from January to April 2025, accounting for approximately 4.1% of global total.
• Top source countries

• Future prospects

What are the reasons for choosing India as a medical tourism destination?

• Cost-Effectiveness – India offers significantly lower costs for medical procedures compared to Western countries.
  • For example, heart bypass surgery can be 5-10 times cheaper in India than in the US or UK.

• High-Quality Healthcare – India has a well-established and growing healthcare infrastructure with internationally accredited hospitals and skilled medical professionals.
  • For example, Tamilnadu emerges as the top state in medical tourism due to best quality medical services.
• Government Support – The Indian government has implemented policies to promote and facilitate medical tourism.
  • For example, the Government of India has extended e-medical visa and e-medical attendant visa facilities to nationals of 171 countries.
• Programmes and schemes – The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is also actively promoting the ‘Heal in India’ campaign.
• It fosters public-private partnerships to enhance the medical tourism ecosystem, which includes hospitals, facilitators, hotels, airlines, and regulatory agencies.
• International certifications – Many hospitals in India has recognitions from international institutions.
• State government initiatives – In Gujarat, the state government is promoting medical tourism by
  • Registering wellness retreats on the official Tourism Department website, supporting participation in wellness-focused events,
  • Organizing familiarization trips for industry stakeholders,
  • Promoting wellness centres through social media platforms.
  • Showcasing its healthcare infrastructure globally
  • Training paramedical staff to improve service quality
  • Participating in international health and wellness events, exhibitions, and conferences.

What are the challenges?

• Lack of promotion – India is lacking in promoting and creating awareness about the state-of-the art facilities in India.
• International competition – India is witnessing strong competition from destinations like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and South Korea with low-cost options.
• Lack of coordination – There is a lack of cohesiveness amongst the major players in the industry to come together and represent India on a world platform to acquire newer geographies.
• Unpredictable fees – The inconsistent fee structure confuses the international patients in choosing India. 
• Lack of transparency – In many hospitals there is a lack of transparency in billing to foreign patients.
• Poor hygiene – Certain hospitals in India has poor hygiene awareness in medical attendants, unhygienic food handling, and lack of proper hospitality services.

Reference

DD News| Medical Tourism in India