Health and medical trips were the most expensive overnight journeys undertaken by Indian households, costing an average Rs 32,167 per trip, according to a new National Statistics Office (NSO) survey, conducted across India, excluding villages in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that remain difficult to access throughout the year.

The findings are part of the Domestic Tourism in India, based on the 80th round of the National Sample Survey conducted between July 2025 and June 2026.

Health and medical travel accounted for around three out of every 10 overnight domestic trips recorded in the survey. “Overall, for overnight trips completed during last 365 days, around 48 trips out of 100 overnight trips were performed for pilgrimage & religious purpose followed by 30 trips for health & medical purpose.”

The category includes a range of treatment and wellness-related travel. “This category included trips to spas, fitness and health resorts, treatments and cures, ayurvedic and other health resorts of traditional medicines, etc., for getting medical treatment.”

The financial burden of such travel was substantially higher than for other purposes. “Average expenditure per overnight trip completed during last 365 days, combining both package and non-package components was maximum (Rs. 32,167) for trip with leading purpose ‘health & medical’ whereas the trips with leading purpose ‘shopping’ were the second costliest (Rs. 18,981).”

Of the Rs 32,167 average expenditure on a health and medical overnight trip, Rs 23,361 was spent on medical items, indicating that treatment itself accounted for most of the cost.

The cost was higher in urban households than in rural households. “Health & medical trips incurred maximum expenditure in both rural (Rs. 29,454) and urban (Rs. 41,649) households among all the trips completed during last 365 days.”

Despite the high costs, only a small proportion of such trips received government reimbursement. “For the overnight trips completed during last 365 days, 8.2% of trips with leading purpose health & medical were reimbursed by any government organization.”

The survey also found a strong age-related pattern in health-related travel. “It reveals that with the increase in age of visitor, proportion of overnight trips decreases for the visitor’s purpose holidaying, leisure and recreation, however for the visitor’s purpose health & medical, proportion of trips increase with age.”

Among people aged 60 years and above, health and medical purposes accounted for 32.3% of overnight trips, compared with 10.4% among children aged up to 14 years.

The health burden was also visible in shorter journeys. Among same-day trips – those that did not involve an overnight stay – health and medical purposes accounted for 18.5% of trips, making it the third-largest reason after social visits and shopping.

These trips also involved significant expenditure. A same-day health and medical trip cost an average Rs 1,499 in rural areas and Rs 1,859 in urban areas.

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