New Delhi, May 2 (IANS) India is emerging as a leading hub for ‘Medical Value Travel’ (MVT), with the medical tourism market estimated at about $8.7 billion in 2025 to nearly double to $16.2 billion by 2030, the government said on Saturday.

The global MVT market is valued at about $115.6 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach around $286.1 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 10.8 per cent.

“Across the world, rising healthcare costs, long waiting times, and the growing burden of lifestyle diseases are driving patients to seek treatment abroad,” an official statement said.

India’s rise in MVT is driven by integration of advanced medical infrastructure with traditional wellness systems such as AYUSH. Strong policy support, digital facilitation, and initiatives like AYUSH Visa and Regional Medical Hubs are strengthening the ecosystem.

India’s MVT ecosystem comprises medical tourism for curative interventions and wellness tourism centred on AYUSH systems such as Yoga and Ayurveda.

These two pillars address both advanced clinical treatment needs and the rising global demand for preventive healthcare, the statement noted.

India recorded 9.15 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2025, of which 5,07,244 were for medical treatment. The data showed that medical tourism constitutes approximately 5.5 per cent of total foreign tourist arrivals.

India’s top source countries for medical tourists in 2025 were Bangladesh (325,127 arrivals), Iraq (30,989), Uzbekistan (13,699), Somalia (11,506), Turkmenistan (10,231), Oman (9738), and Kenya (9,357).

According to the Medical Tourism Index 2020–21, India ranked 10th among the top 46 medical tourism destinations globally, and fifth among the top 10 wellness destinations in the Asia-Pacific region.

India’s healthcare system is supported by robust quality assurance mechanisms and internationally recognised accreditation standards.

Hospitals and healthcare providers across the country obtain accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) which has rigorous benchmarks for patient safety and quality of care.

Looking ahead, the government highlighted that the Union Budget 2026–27 proposed five Regional Medical Hubs with integrated medical, educational and research facilities. Each hub will include AYUSH centres and MVT facilitation centres, the statement noted.

—IANS

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