Archive · 19 Aug 2026
India's Medical Tourism Sector Eyes $16.2 Billion by 2030
Medical tourism means traveling to another country to get medical care or wellness treatments.
India is becoming a popular place for this because treatment can cost less and patients may face shorter waits.
India offers surgeries, cancer care, transplants, dental treatment, fertility care and other services.
It also offers wellness treatments based on Ayurveda, Yoga and other AYUSH practices.
In 2025, more than 500,000 foreign visitors came to India for medical treatment.
Bangladesh sent the largest number of these visitors.
The government has created special medical and AYUSH visas for people from many countries.
It also plans new medical hubs and services to make treatment easier for international patients.
India's medical tourism market is estimated at $8.7 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $16.2 billion by 2030.
India recorded 507,244 foreign medical arrivals in 2025, led by visitors from Bangladesh, Iraq and Uzbekistan.
The sector includes curative treatments such as surgery and transplants, along with AYUSH-based wellness services.
India's cost advantages, English-speaking medical workforce, hospitals and accreditation systems support its global competitiveness.
Budget 2026-27 proposes five Regional Medical Hubs, three All India Institutes of Ayurveda and expanded visa and airport services.
- Who
- Foreign medical tourists, Indian hospitals and healthcare providers, and the Indian government are central to the sector.
- What
- India's medical tourism industry is expanding across curative healthcare and AYUSH-based wellness tourism.
- When
- India's market was estimated at $8.7 billion in 2025, with plans and projections extending to 2030 and Budget 2026-27.
- Where
- The activity is taking place across India, with proposed Regional Medical Hubs and airport services for international patients.
- Why
- Patients travel abroad because of rising healthcare costs, long waiting times and lifestyle diseases; India attracts them through lower costs, medical capacity, English-language care and wellness offerings.
- India market size
- $8.7 billion in 2025; projected to reach $16.2 billion by 2030.
- Global MVT market
- Estimated at $115.6 billion in 2022 and projected to reach $286.1 billion by 2030.
- Foreign medical arrivals
- 507,244 foreign nationals arrived in India for medical treatment in 2025, about 5.5% of total foreign tourist arrivals.
- Largest source country
- Bangladesh accounted for 325,127 medical arrivals in 2025.
- Healthcare infrastructure
- India has 69,364 hospitals—43,486 private and 25,778 public—and 1.2 million registered doctors, according to the report.
- Medical accreditation
- NABH had accredited more than 1,299 hospitals using over 600 safety parameters as of 2026.
- Planned infrastructure
- Budget 2026-27 proposes five Regional Medical Hubs and three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda.
- Visa access
- E-Medical and e-Medical Attendant Visas are available to nationals of 172 countries, alongside e-AYUSH visa categories.