Medical Value Travel (MVT), also known as health tourism or medical tourism, refers to travel for the purpose of maintaining, improving, or restoring health through medical intervention. Over the years, India has become a premier and attractive destination for travelers globally, seeking best-in-class clinical treatment, rejuvenation, and wellness.

India offers a high-end healthcare system, with world-class hospitals providing complex surgical procedures performed by renowned medical specialists. These treatments come at a significantly lower cost compared to other countries, making India a cost-effective destination for medical care.

India is also recognized for its traditional wellness systems under the Ayush umbrella (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy). This segment of MVT focuses not only on medical treatments but also on promoting holistic healing, therapeutic wellness, and spirituality. Ayush-based Medical Value Travel attracts domestic and international visitors seeking alternative therapies and natural rejuvenation.

India is a front-runner in wellness travel, owing to its rich heritage of wellness offerings such as Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (Ayush). The Indian wellness travel market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.45% from 2024 to 2029. Several Indian states namely Uttarakhand, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka are the preferred destinations for foreign wellness tourists to engage in health, spiritual, and yoga retreats. The country’s healthcare and wellness infrastructure attracts approximately 2 million medical tourists annually from 78 countries. In addition to medical value travel, India is a significant exporter of Ayush and herbal products, which are shipped to more than 150 countries. The total export value of Ayush products from India stands at approximately $1.54 billion. Based on the Medical Tourism Index 2020-21, India is ranked 10th out of the top 46 countries, 12th out of the world’s top 20 wellness tourism markets and 5th out of 10 wellness tourism destinations in Asia-Pacific.

India boasts a robust Ayush network, supported by a large workforce and extensive educational infrastructure. The country has 755,780 registered Ayush practitioners, with training provided at 886 undergraduate colleges and 251 postgraduate colleges specializing in Ayush disciplines. The healthcare system is further strengthened by 3,859 Ayush hospitals, 37,385 Ayush dispensaries, and 8,168 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres. Additionally, there are 8,648 licensed manufacturers of Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani, and Homeopathic medicines, ensuring the availability of high-quality traditional remedies both domestically and globally.

To enhance India’s global healthcare presence, the government has launched initiatives like “Heal in India” and “Heal by India.” The “Heal in India” initiative aims to attract international patients by promoting India’s healthcare system, which offers a combination of modern medical facilities and traditional Ayush therapies. Meanwhile, “Heal by India” encourages Indian healthcare professionals to provide their expertise abroad, bolstering India’s reputation as a global leader in both modern and traditional healthcare.

As you are aware, the Govt. of India has taken many steps including the Notification of “Ayush Visa” as a separate category of Visa to facilitate foreign travellers from different countries to come to India to avail Ayush services in various Ayush as well as Integrated facilities across the country.