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Kerala is a beautiful tourist destination known worldwide for its backwaters, beaches, tea plantations, waterfalls, and Ayurveda. The backbone of Kerala's economy has always been the tourism industry because it attracts visitors from all over the world. Kerala is more than that. Kerala is also a popular medical tourism destination too. One is curious to know what medical tourism is. As medical care becomes costly in western countries commoners are struggling to bear the medical expenses in their own country. Therefore they visit countries seeking cheaper medical care and quality to meet international standards.

Kerala has emerged as the major center for international medical tourism. With Kerala expecting at least 100,000 medical tourists over the next three years, the therapeutic tourism industry is in the pink of health. Kerala was already famous for its Ayurvedic treatments, which is healing and rejuvenation. What makes Kerala a popular medical tourism destination? In fact, Kerala is well connected by air travel to major destinations in the world. Another reason is the weather which remains moderate throughout the year. Patients take relatively less time to recover from ailments because of it.

Many hospitals equipped with state of the art medical technology are placed in Kerala. World class doctors well trained and dedicated medical staff works with conviction to provide the best medical care. Language is not a barrier as Kerala has large population that speaks English. And the most important and determining factor is the reduction of the exorbitant costs of medical care in their home country. Foreigners from many countries flock to hospitals for plastic and cosmetic surgery, facial surgery, dental treatments, cosmetology, hip and knee replacement, ophthalmology pain, talk therapy, and treatments obesity.

Apart from medical treatment, patients and their carers can also take a tour of this beautiful land in the fixed price. The world class hospitals, pre-and post-operative and pleasant climate make your medical treatment and recovery in Kerala a positive experience.

Kerala Tourism is also conducting campaigns to promote medical tourism with Ayurveda- drawing maximum advantage of the mega biodiversity region of the Western Ghats. The reserve in Western Ghats is among the rich medicinal plants, the hottest hot spots biodiversity in the world. A large number of foreign and domestic tourists come to Kerala for ayurvedic treatment. No less than 900 species of medicinal herbs are in Kerala. Agasthyakoodam peak in the Western Ghats, about 70 km from Thiruvananthapuram, is home to some of the rarest medicinal plants.

According to an official of the tourism department, Kerala received about 94 lakh domestic visitors last year, while about eight lakh foreign tourists visited the state during the same time. Most foreign tourists from Germany, the Middle East and Australia joined the Ayurveda wellness programs. The tourism campaign centered-Ayurveda aims to lengthen the average stay of foreign tourists to 18 days per person from the current average of 16.2 days. Kerala also plans to conduct a convergence of different systems of medicine. In addition, the tourism department will also add new destinations and diversify its tourism portfolio by including adventure activities like rock climbing and paragliding.