Travelling for medical treatment is the most expensive kind of domestic trip in India, averaging Rs 32,167 a trip before any treatment costs, according to the National Statistical Office's 80th-round report Domestic Tourism in India, released on 23 September.

The average was Rs 29,454 for rural travellers and Rs 41,649 for urban ones; shopping trips came a distant second at Rs 18,981. Health and medical travel accounted for 38.4 percent of overnight trips in rural India, more than double the 16.5 percent in urban areas, and rural households made more than twice as many overnight medical trips per 100 households.

People aged 60 and over accounted for 32.3 percent of overnight medical trips, and hired vehicles were the most common transport. The survey, run from July 2025 to June 2026, covered 142,603 rural and 103,510 urban households. Down To Earth says the findings highlight the financial burden on people who must leave their villages or states for care.

Photo: Stethoscopes / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Source: Down To Earth