State draws up ₹365-crore medical tourism policy, hopes to earn $3.84 billion in four years

Maharashtra aims to become a global medical tourism hub, targeting $3.84 billion in earnings by 2030 with world-class healthcare and wellness services.

MUMBAI: Seeking to position the state as a global medical tourism destination, the Maharashtra government has chalked out its ambitious Medical Tourism or Medical Value Travel Policy targeting foreign exchange earnings of $3.84 billion by 2030 while promising world-class healthcare, wellness tourism, and integrated medical services for international patients.

State draws up ₹365-crore medical tourism policy, hopes to earn $3.84 billion in four years

The medical tourism plan, which is part of the medical policy, aims to transform Maharashtra into a leading hub for affordable and high-quality medical care by leveraging its advanced healthcare infrastructure, internationally trained doctors, strong connectivity, and traditional wellness systems including, ayurveda, yoga and homeopathy.

“The wellness tourism sector is expanding rapidly, with the global market estimated at $639 billion while India witnessed a rise in international patients rapidly in the last few years, creating an estimated market of five to six billion USD,” said a health department official. “Under the central government’s National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism, 11 cities have been identified as medical tourism hubs, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Nashik in Maharashtra. Mumbai ranks second in the country with six Joint Commission International (JCI)-accredited hospitals. The policy aims at establishing the state as a destination offering a seamless blend of advanced medical treatment and holistic wellness.”

The state has projected an investment of more than ₹365 crore over the next five years towards accreditation support, digital infrastructure, international branding, airport lounges, marketing campaigns and monitoring systems. “We also believe the policy can generate substantial employment opportunities across healthcare, hospitality, transport, wellness and digital sectors and enhance the state’s global standing for integrated healthcare and wellness tourism,” said the official.

The government also plans to establish dedicated Medical Value Travel lounges and help desks at major international airports. These lounges will provide 24x7 multilingual support, medical immigration assistance, real-time coordination with hospitals, transport guidance, accommodation assistance and emergency help. These lounges will have trained international patient coordinators who will serve as a single point of contact for patients.

Also proposed is a centralised portal that will function as a single-window system for information on accredited hospitals, doctors, treatment packages, prices, accommodation, transport and tourism opportunities. “Patients will be able to compare treatment costs across empanelled hospitals through a digital benchmarking tool, book appointments, access teleconsultation services, upload documents, view treatment plans, and make secure payments through the portal,” said the official. “The state plans to promote telemedicine services extensively to enable pre-travel medical evaluations and post-treatment consultations. Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots and multilingual assistance will improve accessibility and response time.”

The policy divides medical value travel into the categories of medical treatment, preventive care, and alternative medicine. Medical treatment will include advanced and specialised tertiary healthcare procedures while preventive care will focus on cosmetic surgery, stress relief therapies and detoxification programmes. Alternative medicine will include traditional systems including ayurveda yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy. To ensure international competitiveness, the policy has set an ambitious target of ensuring that at least 50% of tertiary and super-specialty hospitals obtain accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) and Joint Commission International (JCI) by 2030.

“The medical tourism policy is part of the overall health policy of the state,” said the official. “It is based on the central government’s tourism policy and medical value travel policies. The state’s policy has been ready for the last few months, but has not been moved for cabinet approval despite the chief minister’s directives given to the department recently.”

Public health minister Prakash Abitkar said the policy had been drafted in line with the National Health Policy, incorporating inputs from experts and by studying the policies of other states. We have now sought suggestions from key stakeholders such as the tourism department and the Directorate of Medical Education and Research,” he said. “After incorporating their feedback, the policy will be placed before the cabinet for approval. We expect it to receive approval within the next month.”