AYUSH Ministry inks MoU with India Tourism Development Corporation to promote Medical Value Travel

New Delhi: Ministry of Ayush has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to work together for the promotion of Medical Value Travel in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine. 

Dr. Shashi Ranjan Vidyarthi, Director, Ministry of Ayush and Shri Piyush Tiwari, Director (Commercial and Marketing), ITDC signed the MoU in presence of Shri Pramod Kumar Pathak, special secretary, MoA and other senior officials of Ministry of Ayush and ITDC.

According to the MoU, the Ministry of Ayush will provide training to the officials of ITDC to sensitize them about the Medical value travel in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine. It will identify tourist circuits, where there is immense scope to promote Medical value travel in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine and provide all the technical know-how from time to time to ITDC.

ITDC on suggestion of the Ministry of Ayush will include historical heritage sites of Indian systems of medicine in tourist destinations under "Knowledge Tourism and may develop films/literature useful to tourists. It will explore establishing Ayurveda and Yoga centre in the Hotels run by ITDC and will organize sensitization workshops in collaboration.

The implementation and progress of the MoU will be monitored by a Joint Working Group (JWG) co-chaired by representatives from MoA and ITDC. The JWG will also identify the best practices adopted by Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, etc. to promote themselves as a preferred destination for Medical value travel.

In the recently concluded First Health Working Group meeting of the G20 India presidency at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala G20 delegates deliberated on opportunities and challenges to promote MVT in India.

Medical Value Travel has seen significant growth in India in recent years. According to the report ‘The Global Wellness Economy: Looking beyond COVID’ by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the Global Wellness economy will grow at 9.9% annually. The ayush-based healthcare & Wellness economy is estimated to grow to $70 billion by 2025.