India’s Next Great Export: Medical Tourism

Across advanced and developing economies alike, rising costs, aging populations, workforce shortages, and long waiting times are today creating ever-widening gaps between healthcare demand and supply. Millions of patients worldwide are seeking high-quality medical care that is affordable, timely, and reliable.

India stands uniquely positioned to respond to this global demand and become the world’s leading destination for medical tourism, while also transforming its healthcare system into one of our most potent export earners and employment creators. It can offer the most advanced surgical, diagnostic, and wellness services at a fraction of the costs charged in developed countries, while also providing traditional healing through Ayurveda and Yoga. It is an opportunity grounded in India’s comparative advantages, backed by proven capabilities and a support system.

A Global Market in Search of Solutions

Healthcare costs are rising dramatically across the world. In the USA, per capita healthcare spending exceeds $12,000 annually, nearly five times the global average. In many OECD countries, complex surgeries such as joint replacements, cardiac procedures, and cancer treatments involve waiting periods ranging from six months to over two years.  As these countries age faster, the global healthcare workforce shortages are projected to reach 11 million professionals by 2030, according to the WHO. These pressures are already driving cross-border healthcare.

The global medical tourism market is estimated to surpass $100 billion by 2030. Patients are no longer traveling only for cosmetic or elective procedures; they are increasingly seeking complex surgeries, oncology care, fertility treatment, organ transplants, and long-term rehabilitation. India has emerged as one of the most trusted destinations in this space, attracting patients from 75 developing and developed countries for advanced treatments and wellness therapies. Its medical tourism market is projected to grow from $18 billion in 2025 to $58 billion by 2035, according a KPMG estimate.

India’s Current Position: Strong but Underleveraged

India’s medical tourism sector has displayed robust growth over the post-COVID years, with the arrival of foreign tourists for medical purposes soaring from under 200,000 in 2020 to over 640,000 in 2024, 75% from Bangladesh alone. The sector is poised for 15% growth, following the simplified e-Visa process announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, which will further enhance India’s appeal, with medical tourism expanding beyond metro cities.

The Government’s e-medical visa and e-medical attendant visa facilities today extend to citizens of over 171 countries, reducing the earlier barriers to access.

However, India’s growth in medical has occurred largely without a unified national strategy, driven instead by private sector excellence, clinical outcomes, and India’s compelling cost advantages, with complex surgeries and procedures costing between 10 and 20%, and cancer therapies and organ transplants at one-third the cost seen in advanced economies at comparable and sometimes superior quality and patient care.

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