Medical Tourism: How India is making a determined bid to emerge as a preferred destination

India is making a determined bid to emerge as a preferred Medical Tourism destination with initiatives spanning different systems of medicine.

India ranked 10 in the Medical Tourism Index for 2020-21 out of 46 destinations across the world ranked by the Medical Tourism Association, the government informed the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of India’s Parliament) on Tuesday.

According to a written reply by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar, the number of foreign tourists arriving in India for medical purposes went up from 1.83 lakh in 2020 to 3.04 lakh in 2021. The figures are based on information provided by India’s Ministry of Tourism.

Pawar’s reply added that the Ministry of Tourism formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism in 2022. The strategy has identified following key pillars for the development of medical value travel in the country:

1. Develop a brand for India as a wellness destination

2. Strengthen the ecosystem for medical and wellness tourism

3. Enable digitalization by setting up Online Medical Value Travel (MVT) Portal

4. Enhancement of accessibility for Medical Value Travel

5. Promoting Wellness Tourism

6. Governance and Institutional Framework

The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is coordinating with other Ministries like the Ministry of Home Affairs, Tourism, AYUSH, External Affairs, Civil Aviation, State Governments and other stakeholders to promote Medical Value Travel (MVT) in the country.

“An institutional approach in coordination with other Ministries like Ministry of Tourism, AYUSH, Home Affairs, External Affairs, Civil Aviation, State Governments and other relevant stakeholders is adopted for promotion of medical value travel,” the written reply by MoS Health Pawar stated.

The reply added that several rounds of stakeholder consultations have been conducted with line Ministries, Hospitals, MVT facilitators, Insurance Companies and National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) to identify the challenges and opportunities in the sector.

Meanwhile, in a written reply to another question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal provided information about ‘Heal in India’, another initiative of the Government to promote Medical Tourism in the country.

The Ministry of Ayush covers traditional & non-conventional systems of health care and healing which include Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy.

Under the 'Heal in India' initiative, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and the Ministry of Ayush have been working with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and the Services Export Promotion Council for developing a One Step Heal in India portal for Promotion of Medical Value Travel.

Sonowal informed that the Ministry of Ayush has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to work together for the promotion of Medical Value Travel in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.

“The Ministry of Tourism has formulated a National strategy and roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism by involving Ministry of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation etc,” the minister’s reply added.