Archive · 24 Sep 2026
Medical Trips Drive India’s Domestic Travel and Spending
Many people in India travel to another place to receive healthcare.
These medical trips were the second-most common type of overnight trip after religious travel.
Medical travel was especially common among rural households.
Rural families spent an average of ₹29,454 on each medical trip.
Urban families spent more, averaging ₹41,649.
These costs can include travel, accommodation and healthcare-related expenses.
Rural travellers often used buses, while urban travellers commonly used trains.
The survey studied more than 246,000 households across India.
Health and medical trips were India’s second-largest category of overnight travel, after pilgrimage and religious journeys.
Medical trips made up 38.4% of relevant rural overnight trips, while urban travel was led by holidaying, leisure and recreation at 36.4%.
Average medical-trip spending was ₹29,454 for rural households and ₹41,649 for urban households.
Uttar Pradesh had the largest overall share of visitor-trips at 15.7%, followed by Tamil Nadu at 13.4% and Rajasthan at 8%.
Buses were most common among rural travellers, while urban travellers more often used trains and stayed in hotels or guesthouses.
- Who
- Indian rural and urban households included in the survey.
- What
- A survey found that medical travel is a major reason for domestic overnight trips and has the highest average expenditure among the listed travel purposes.
- When
- The trips were recorded from the previous 365 days; the survey’s collection date is not stated.
- Where
- Across India, including travel within and outside households’ home states.
- Why
- People travelled to access healthcare services outside their usual places of residence.
- Medical travel ranking
- Second-largest category of relevant overnight trips after pilgrimage and religious travel.
- Rural medical-trip share
- 38.4% of relevant rural overnight trips.
- Rural average spending
- ₹29,454 per medical trip.
- Urban average spending
- ₹41,649 per medical trip.
- Largest visitor-trip share
- Uttar Pradesh, at 15.7%.
- Survey coverage
- 24,778 First Stage Units and 2,46,113 households, including 1,42,603 rural and 1,03,510 urban households.