Synopsis The quality service coupled with comparatively low charges for common surgeries has made India an attractive destination for medical value travel. The main clientele comes from the neighbouring countries but an increasing but an increasing number of non-resident Indians (NRIs) settled in the US and the UK have also been availing of the healthcare services in India. There is a good prospect of patients coming from the Middle East in future.

The competitiveness of India in health tourism is enhanced by the attractiveness of the alternative systems of medicine, Ayurveda in particular, for the foreign tourists. A large number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, undergo treatment under Ayurveda not only for improving their fitness and well-being but also for curing many types of chronic diseases.  The unique position that kerala enjoys with respect to Ayurveda is due to the fact that the treatment in the State has proved effective in dealing with certain diseases, which are incurable by other systems. The State is also well endowed with herbs and medicinal plants, which are used for treatment.  

With yoga, meditation, ayurveda, allopathy and natural herbal treatments, India offers a unique basket of services to foreign patient-tourists that are difficult to match by other countries. The recent operations of children from Pakistan in Bangalore have not only helped boost the medical economy in the state, but also helped in fostering goodwill, peace and harmony between India and Pakistan.

The present work deals with the successful efforts in marketing health tourism products internationally, possessing glorious traditions of India.