Development of medical tourism in India: prospects and challenges

Abstract

With the advent of globalization, concepts like medical tourism, wellness tourism, healthcare tourism, and medical migration have gained popularity. The medical tourism industry is the fastest growing industry in the world, with a CAGR of 21.1%. India is known historically for its spiritual values, Ayurveda, and naturopathy. Currently, India is one of the most preferred locations for medical tourism after Thailand. Looking at the growth potential of this industry in India, this paper aims to trace the thematic trends and intellectual progression in the development of medical tourism in India. To achieve the above objective, bibliometric analyses were carried out using the Scopus database from 2006 to 2020. The methodology used to analyze the literature is data mining and literature studies in terms of evolution, citations, etc., and creating semantic maps using VoS Viewer. The paper also aims to analyze the current research trend in this field and provide future directions for research. The results reveal the field’s evolution regarding impact, citations, sources and provide researchers and practitioners with a visual framework of research in this area.