India saw 1,31,856 foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) for medical purposes between January and April 2025, making up around 4.1% of the total FTAs during this period, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism.
The figures were shared by Union Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Medical tourism is when people travel to another country to get medical treatment — often because it’s cheaper, faster, or better quality than in their home country.
In the last five years, Bangladesh has remained the leading source of medical tourists, contributing 4,82,336 arrivals in 2024. It was followed by Iraq (32,008), Somalia (11,717), Oman (10,431), and Uzbekistan (8,921). As per the Bureau of Immigration, the total FTAs for medical reasons in 2024 stood at 6,44,387, marking a steep rise from 1,82,945 in 2020.
The government has extended e-medical visa and e-medical attendant visa facilities to nationals of 171 countries, aimed at easing access for international patients.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is actively promoting ‘Heal in India’ campaign, fostering public-private partnerships to enhance the medical tourism ecosystem, which includes hospitals, facilitators, hotels, airlines, and regulatory agencies.
Development and promotion of tourist destinations and products, including medical tourism is undertaken by the respective State Government/Union Territory (UT) Administration. The Ministry complements the efforts of States/UTs by developing and promoting various tourism products of the country, including medical tourism through various schemes and initiatives.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during Budget 2025-26 said that facilitating employment-led growth include organizing intensive skill-development programmes for youth including hospitality management, MUDRA loans for homestays, improving ease of travel and connectivity to tourist destinations, introducing streamlined e-visa facilities and providing performance-linked incentives to states.
