Lok Sabha Question No. 66 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-04
Subject: Promotion of Medical Tourism
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: POONAMBEN HEMATBHAI MAADAM

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.66 ANSWERED ON 04.02.2019

## PROMOTION OF MEDICAL TOURISM

66.   SHRIMATI POONAMBEN MAADAM:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  India  is  emerging  as  a  popular  destination  for  medical tourism and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  medical  tourism  in  the  country  is  projected  to  be  a  $9 billion opportunity by 2020 and if so, the details thereof along with the current achievement of medical tourism;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  bring  out  a  new  policy  to promote India as a key destination for medical tourism and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government to ease the travel processes and promote medical tourism; and
- (d) the  details  of  the  number  of  foreign  tourists  who  visited  the country  for  health/medical  tourism  along  with  the  revenue  and employment  generated  therefrom  during  each  of  the  last  three years and the current year?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (SHRI K.J. ALPHONS)

- (a) & (b): Yes, Madam. India has emerged as a major Medical Tourism destination. As per a FICCI-IMS Knowledge Paper titled, 'Medical Value travel  in  India:  Enhancing  value  in  MVT',  published  in  2016,  India  is amongst the top 6 MVT (Medical Value Travel) destinations of the world which include Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Mexico. It  is  further  informed  that  as  per  the  above  report,  through  adequate focus and effective execution, Indian Medical Value Travel, pegged at 3 billion USD in 2015, can be a 9 billion USD opportunity by 2020.
- (c) & (d):  The Ministry of Tourism has recognized Medical and Wellness Tourism as Niche Tourism Products and offers various facilities as given below to promote India as a preferred destination as well as facilitate the visit of medical tourists to the country:
- (i) The Ministry offers financial support as Marketing Development  Assistance  for  Publicity  and  for  organising Wellness  and  Medical  Tourism  Promotion  shows  as  well  as workshops/events/seminars to accredited Medical and Wellness Tourism Service Providers and Chambers of Commerce, etc.
- (ii) A film on Medical Tourism has been produced in association with BBC  and  is used at various fora for promotional purposes.
- (iii) Medical  and  Medical  attendant  visa  has  been  introduced  to streamline  and  ease  the  travel  process  of  Medical  tourists. The e-tourist visa regime has also been expanded to include medical visits as well.

The  Department  of  Commerce  and  Services  Export  Promotion Council (SEPC) have launched a Healthcare Portal www.indiahealthcaretourism.com, as a single source platform providing comprehensive  information  to  medical  travelers  on  the  top  healthcare institutions  in  the  country.  This  portal  is  available  in  English,  Arabic, Russian and French.

A National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board has been constituted  to  provide  a  dedicated  institutional  framework  to  take forward  the  cause  of  promotion  of  Medical  and  Wellness  Tourism including Ayurveda and any other format of Indian system of medicine covered by Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH).

It has also been decided to set up facilitation counters at the major airports  of  Delhi,  Mumbai,  Chennai,  Kolkata,  Hyderabad  and  Bengaluru for tourists arriving on Medical Visas.

The  Ministry  of  Tourism  collates  data  regarding  the  arrivals  on Medical and Medical Attendant visas provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs.  Following  are  the  foreign  tourist  arrivals  in  India  for  medical purpose during 2014 to 2017:

| 2014     | 2015     | 2016     | 2017     |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| 1,39,447 | 2,33,918 | 4,27,014 | 4,95,056 |

The Ministry of Tourism does not compile information on employment generated and revenue earned through medical tourism.

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