Explained: India’s $8.7 billion medical tourism industry, and where it’s headed by 2030
India’s medical tourism sector is expanding rapidly, positioning the country as one of the world’s key destinations for both curative treatment and wellness therapies, according to a Press Information Bureau (PIB) report.
Why people travel abroad for treatment
Globally, rising healthcare costs, long waiting times, and a growing burden of lifestyle diseases are pushing patients to seek treatment outside their home countries, PIB noted. This shift has given rise to a multi-billion-dollar Medical Value Travel (MVT) industry — valued at around $115.6 billion in 2022, and projected to reach approximately $286.1 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of about 10.8 per cent, per the report.
Where India stands
India has emerged as one of the most significant destinations within this landscape, per PIB. Industry estimates place India’s medical tourism market at about $8.7 billion in 2025, with projections of $16.2 billion by 2030.
According to the Medical Tourism Index 2020-21, cited in the PIB release, India ranks 10th among the top 46 medical tourism destinations globally, 12th among the world’s top 20 wellness tourism markets, and 5th among the top 10 wellness destinations in the Asia-Pacific region.
The sector is broadly split into two pillars, PIB explained: medical tourism, which covers curative interventions such as complex surgeries, organ transplants and advanced diagnostics; and wellness tourism, centred on preventive care through Yoga, Ayurveda, Naturopathy and other AYUSH practices.
The 2025 numbers
As per Ministry of Tourism estimates cited by PIB, travel and tourism contributed 5.22 per cent to India’s GDP in FY24, close to pre-pandemic levels, and supported an estimated 8.46 crore direct and indirect jobs — about 13.3 per cent of total employment.
For 2025 specifically, India recorded 9.15 million foreign tourist arrivals overall. Of these, 5,07,244 foreign nationals arrived specifically for medical treatment, making up approximately 5.5 per cent of total foreign arrivals, according to the PIB backgrounder.
The top source countries for medical tourists in 2025, per the release, were Bangladesh (3,25,127 arrivals), followed by Iraq (30,989), Uzbekistan (13,699), Somalia (11,506), Turkmenistan (10,231), Oman (9,738) and Kenya (9,357). Patients from these and other countries primarily travel to India for treatments including cardiac surgery, orthopaedic procedures, cancer treatment, organ transplants, neurological interventions, cosmetic surgery, dental care, fertility treatment and AYUSH-based wellness therapies.
What makes India competitive
PIB attributes India’s 10th-place global ranking in the Medical Tourism Index to a few key factors. The country has 69,364 hospitals — 43,486 private and 25,778 public — supported by 1.2 million registered doctors, meeting the WHO-recommended doctor-to-population ratio. English being the primary language of medical education and clinical practice, PIB noted, also helps with communication with international patients.
On quality assurance, the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) has accredited over 1,299 hospitals using more than 600 safety parameters as of 2026, per the backgrounder. Several Indian hospitals also hold Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation. As of 2022, Delhi led with 9 JCI-accredited hospitals, followed by Mumbai (6), Bangalore (3), and Chennai and Hyderabad (2 each), among others.
Cost remains a major draw, PIB said, with high-quality treatment in India often available at substantially lower cost than in many developed countries, without long waiting periods.
The AYUSH push
India’s wellness tourism edge rests on AYUSH — Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, per the release. A dedicated AYUSH Visa was introduced on July 27, 2023, to ease access for foreign patients and their attendants. The Bureau of Indian Standards has also adopted ISO 22525, an international standard for medical wellness tourism services, and around 27 insurance companies now offer more than 140 policy products covering AYUSH treatments, PIB noted.
What’s planned under Budget 2026-27
The Union Budget 2026-27 proposes five Regional Medical Hubs across the country, developed with state governments and the private sector, PIB said. These integrated healthcare complexes will house medical, educational and research facilities, each featuring dedicated AYUSH Centres and MVT Facilitation Centres, and are expected to generate employment for doctors and allied health professionals.
The budget also proposes three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda, alongside an upgrade to the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, according to the backgrounder.
Digital and visa facilitation
The e-Medical Visa and e-Medical Attendant Visa facilities have been extended to nationals of 172 countries, PIB said, alongside newer e-AYUSH Visa and e-AYUSH Attendant Visa categories. The government is also upgrading a one-stop Medical Value Travel Portal for end-to-end booking and post-operative care, and plans MVT Concierge and Lounges at major airports to assist international patients through immigration, customs and baggage claims.
Who’s overseeing it
The National Medical & Wellness Tourism Promotion Board (NMWTB), constituted by the Ministry of Tourism in 2015 and chaired by the Union Tourism Minister, coordinates the sector across ministries, state governments, hospitals and industry stakeholders, per PIB. States have also been encouraged to set up their own Medical and Wellness Tourism Promotion Boards.
