Tourism Ministry develops national strategy to boost medical tourism

Thursday, March 23, 2023

In order to boost medical tourism in the country, the Ministry of Tourism has developed a national plan and roadmap for medical and wellness tourism, said Union Minister G Kishan Reddy in Lok Sabha on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the strategy has identified several pillars, including developing a brand for India as a wellness destination, strengthening the ecosystem for medical and wellness tourism, enabling digitalization through the establishment of an Online Medical Value Travel (MVT) Portal, improving accessibility for medical value travel, promoting wellness tourism, and strengthening the governance and institutional framework.

According to the Minister, the Central government liberalised the e-Tourist Visa Scheme with Cabinet approval on November 30, 2016, and the e-Tourist Visa scheme was renamed to e-Visa scheme, which now contains e-Medical Visa and e-Medical Attendant Visa as sub-categories.

Triple entry is permitted in the case of an e-Medical Visa and an e-Medical Attendant Visa, and extensions of up to six months may be granted on a case-by-case basis on the merits of each case by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO)/Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) concerned.

According to the Minister, the validity of the Medical Attendant Visa was linked to the validity of the primary e-Visa holder.

Moreover, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said that it is working with other Ministries and stakeholders to encourage medical value travel in the nation. Numerous rounds of stakeholder meetings have been held with line ministries, hospitals, MVT facilitators, insurance companies, and NABH, among others, to identify the sector’s difficulties and possibilities, according to a statement from the Ministry of Tourism.

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