The world is witnessing a growing understanding of health and wellness. People proactively choose a healthier lifestyle and seek a sync between body and soul, especially after a prolonged Covid-19 pandemic which has alarmed citizens of the world regarding their poor immunity and unhealthy lifestyle. As a result, demand for wellness retreats has risen more than ever. People are visiting India to take benefit of traditional medicine after post pandemic.
A report by Global Wellness Institute predicted the growth of wellness tourism by an average annual rate of 7.5 percent by 2022. The surge results from people becoming more conscious while picking synthetic resorts of medicines and treatment and choosing an alternative route to healing emerged in medical science. For example, Ayurveda, also known as the ‘Science of Life,’ has proven its rehabilitating powers time and again. As a result, the world is now shifting towards traditional medicines for holistic well-being, nutrition, and rejuvenation.
The growing popularity of traditional therapies has given rise to India’s wellness tourism. According to Kerala tourism, about 35 percent of the foreign tourists who visit the state are repeat visitors seeking Ayurveda treatments.
The government of India did not want to miss this opportunity to create a new avenue for economic growth and decided to make India a global hub for traditional healing via AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy)
The Government of India organized a three-day program, “Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit,” inviting global investors to promote India’s wellness tourism.
In 2014, India’s Ayush sector weighed less than $3 Billion, while now, after the government’s continuous push for traditional medicine and wellness tourism, it has an $ 18 Billion market.
In a three-day Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit 2022 at Gandhinagar, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, the Secretary of Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, said, “The government budget in the sector has increased over four times from Rs. 691 crores in 2014 to Rs. 3050 crores in the last budget. The market also has grown exponentially from Rs. 22,000 crores in 2014 to Rs. 1.14 Lakh crores,”
While talking about the growth of Kerala Tourism after promoting it as a wellness hub, PM Modi coined the new term ‘Heal in India’. He said that not only Kerala but the entire country has the potential to earn from practicing traditional medicine and promoting ancient wellness therapies.
Speaking about the newly inaugurated WHO- Global Centre for Traditional Medicine at Jamnagar in Gujarat, PM Modi announced that the center is coming up with many initiatives to promote AYUSH.
The government recognized the potential for investment in medical tourism in India and decided to give a legitimate push to it through a plethora of initiatives.
AYUSH MARK
The government has said to launch an AYUSH mark to authenticate traditional medicines manufactured under the AYUSH.
Prime Minister Modi, “India will soon introduce the AYUSH mark, which will give authenticity to quality AYUSH products of the country. The mark will be given to products vetted using the latest technology. This will give confidence to the people of the world that they are purchasing quality AYUSH products.”
AYUSH VISA
Along with the AYUSH mark, the government has also announced the issuance of an AYUSH visa. The Centre would introduce the AYUSH visa category for foreigners who want to undergo AYUSH treatments in India.
“India will soon introduce the AYUSH mark, which will give authenticity to quality AYUSH products of the country. The mark will be given to products vetted using the latest technology. This will give confidence to people of the world that they are purchasing quality AYUSH products,” the PM said.
The government wishes to boost wellness tourism and traditional medicine in India as AYUSH visas help increase India’s GDP.
India’s Wellness Tourism Scenario
India has emerged as a popular spot for medical tourism among people from Asia and Africa. While a few people from the US, the UK, and Australia frequent the country for therapeutic treatments.
According to Medical Tourism Association, India was ranked 10th in the world in the Medical Tourism Index 2020-21.
India has been a hub for top-class medical services with learned specialists at cheaper rates for a decade. As a result, it has been able to attract international tourists to the country’s medical infrastructure. As many as 7 lakh tourists traveled to India for medical treatment in 2019.
While the industry faced a dip in its growth due to pandemic-related restrictions, the government has come up with an innovative plan to revive the industry through AYUSH tourism.
With the concept of pushing traditional medicine to attract wellness tourism, the government is likely to collaborate with renowned institutes, hotels, and wellness centers that provide traditional healing, rehabilitation, and recreational programs.
Here’s how India is restoring its traditional medicine
In 2014, the Modi Government made a few drastic shifts in India’s health policy. Firstly, the government decided to integrate the use of traditional medicine with its mainstream public health delivery systems. For this, the government reframed the Department of Indian System of Medicine and Homeopathy to the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) in November 2014.
The government intended to make alternative medicine an integral part of its service-supply-mix and resource mobilization armamentarium through this newly formed healthcare wing. Hence, it pushed the application of traditional medicine at every level in the country’s healthcare ecosystem.
The government has begun to promote yoga in schools and workspaces while also recruiting AYUSH personnel in urban and rural health centers across the country.
Even during corona lockdowns, the Ministry of Ayush came up with home remedies to maintain immunity. In addition, many state governments distributed concoctions and ayurvedic medicines.
Hence the government is leaving no stone unturned to revive India’s ancient medicine traditions and make India a wellness hub worldwide.
For more such detailed articles on corporate news go to https://corpindianews.com/
Image Credit:
newsdeal.in
ybrantnews.com
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
medicalnewstoday.com
indianholiday.com
