Trends in economic contribution of health tourism to Indian economy

Indian tourism sector is one of the most vibrating sectors of the Indian economy. It is not only a significant contributor to GDP and employment opportunities, but also provides health services to domestic and foreign tourists. Now a day's people are more aware of the importance of health. They are conscious in maintaining a healthy body, mind and soul. People visit tourism destinations normally for leisure and recreation. India has competition from other health tourism countries like Thailand, Jordan, Malaysia, South Africa, USA and UK etc. The purpose of visiting a tourism destination may vary depending up on the nature and interests of tourists. Hence tourism destinations design variety of tourism products so as to cater the needs of tourists having different interests. Health tourism is a niche tourism developed by the competing tourism promoting countries in order to attract people travelling with the prime purpose of getting healthcare. In this context the present study makes an attempt to analyze the economic contribution of health tourism sector in India. The analysis is based on the secondary data collected from the published sources. The results indicate that health tourism quality care, relatively cheaper services compared to the other countries, package deals and cheap services from the tourism and hospitality sectors are the biggest attraction of health tourism in India.