Kerala finance budget 2025-26: Rs 50 crore allocation to make Kerala health hub | Kochi News
KOCHI: Aiming to tap the potential of health tourism, the state government is planning to step in with a global level campaign featuring health tourism in Kerala.
Presenting finance budget 2025-26 in the assembly on Friday, Finance Minister K N Balagopal said that Rs 50 Crore would be earmarked for the campaign promoting health tourism in Kerala. “Kerala has potential to become the health tourism hub of the country. The state govt will hold a global level campaign to feature the health tourism potential of Kerala among other countries”, he said.
The union finance budget presented by the finance minister Nirmala Seetharaman last week had proposed major projects to promote health tourism.
The union budget proposal to promote medical tourism and the ‘Heal in India’ initiative in partnership with the private sector, along with capacity building and easier visa norms, is considered beneficial for the state, which can tap the potential of the medical sector.
The new campaign announced in the state budget can be a joint initiative with the union govt’s proposed project.
Prasanth Vasudev, tourism consultant and former Deputy Director of The budget proposal to promote medical tourism would be beneficial for Kerala, which is a leading player in this sector in the country, said Jose Pradeep, President of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM). “Union Govt should keep the promises in the budget and the state govt should give proper support to tap the maximum potential of the medical tourism sector in Kerala,” he said.
