ASSOCHAM-CBRE report identifies wellness and medical travel among India's emerging tourism segments as connectivity and hotel performance improve
India's tourism market is expanding beyond traditional leisure and heritage travel, creating new opportunities for wellness retreats, medical tourism accommodation and other specialised hospitality formats. A new report by CBRE South Asia and ASSOCHAM identifies wellness and medical tourism among the segments expected to contribute to the country's next phase of tourism growth.
The report, “Reimagining Indian Tourism: Unlocking the Next Wave of Growth”, was released at the ASSOCHAM National Tourism Conclave in New Delhi. Alongside wellness and medical travel, it identifies spiritual, MICE, cruise, rural and wildlife tourism as areas of opportunity.
For the health tourism sector, the findings point to growing convergence between healthcare, wellbeing and hospitality. The report specifically highlights opportunities for accommodation close to hospitals as well as retreat-based concepts, reflecting different requirements across medical and wellness travel.
Better connectivity opens new tourism markets
Infrastructure development is changing access to destinations across India. Expanding road and rail networks and alternative forms of transport are bringing locations that were previously more difficult to reach into wider tourism circuits.
This development has particular significance for wellness and spiritual tourism, where destinations are often located outside India's principal metropolitan centres. Improved access can support both established destinations and the development of new hospitality clusters around specialised travel experiences.
Spiritual tourism is also generating additional demand for accommodation, transport and retail around pilgrimage centres. Together with the expansion of wellness tourism, this creates potential for hospitality concepts that combine accommodation with experiences centred on physical recovery, relaxation or traditional approaches to wellbeing.
Hotel occupancy rises as tourism demand strengthens
India's wider hospitality market provides a strong backdrop for these specialised segments. According to CBRE data cited in the report, occupancy across the organised hotel sector increased from 42.0% in 2021 to 64.1% in 2025.
Growth in Average Daily Rate has also pushed Revenue Per Available Room above pre-pandemic levels. Performance varies by destination, with Goa recording occupancy of 75-80% and Jaipur between 62% and 67%. Bengaluru recorded year-on-year RevPAR growth of 20-25%.
The structure of India's hotel supply also indicates that tourism growth is not confined to the luxury market. Economy, Upper Midscale and Midscale properties account for almost 60% of the country's branded room inventory.
The figures underline the scale of India's broader hospitality market as specialised accommodation formats linked to wellness and medical tourism begin to attract greater attention.
New destinations require specialised hospitality
The expansion of tourism into new locations will require investment not only in transport infrastructure but also in accommodation, services and skilled personnel.
“The next phase of tourism growth will require us to look beyond increasing tourist numbers and focus on building new destinations, creating new experiences and improving destination management,” said Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The report also highlights the need for adequate hotel capacity, trained staff and properties designed for the requirements of different traveler segments as improved connectivity increases access to destinations.
For India's health and wellness tourism industry, this creates opportunities extending beyond conventional resorts and hospitals. Hospital-adjacent accommodation, dedicated wellness retreats and hospitality concepts serving destinations associated with traditional wellbeing and spiritual practices could all become part of a more diversified tourism landscape.
As infrastructure development connects more destinations with India's major population centres and international gateways, the combination of improved accessibility, stronger hotel performance and growing interest in specialised forms of travel could provide a foundation for further investment in the country's wellness and medical tourism sectors.
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