New Delhi, Aug 7 (UNI) In the first four months of 2025, over 1.3 lakh foreign tourists traveled to India for medical treatment, accounting for approximately 4.1 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) during this period, the Government said today.
“The total number of FTAs for medical purposes in India during 2025 (up to April) is 1,31,856,” said Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
The Minister said the number of FTAs for medical purposes has been increasing in the past five years, with most of them coming from Bangladesh, Iraq, Somalia, Oman, and Uzbekistan.
“From 1.8 lakh in 2020, the number of FTAs for medical purposes rose to 6.4 lakh in 2024,” Shekhawat said.
However, it saw a dip in 2024 compared to 2023. The number of foreign tourists in 2023 stood at 6.5 lakh.
“The ecosystem for medical tourism includes a host of service providers, facilitators, hospitals, commercial agencies such as hotels and airlines, regulatory agencies, and government,” the Minister stated.
Earlier this year, the Union Budget announced a ‘Heal in India’ campaign in partnership with the private sector to boost medical tourism in the country.
“The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare takes appropriate measures for building capacity through Public Private Partnership for promoting ‘Heal in India’, including hospitals, public associations, and trade bodies, etc,” Shekhawat said.
The Minister added, that to facilitate the visit of foreign nationals to come to India for medical treatment, the government has extended the e-medical visa/e-medical attendant visa facility to nationals of 171 countries.
Talking about various initiatives, he said that 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, said Shekhawat.
