Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled in Budget 2026-27 major plans to promote the tourism sector and also turn India into a major medical tourism hub.
Sitharaman unveils major tourism push in Budget 2026-27; eyes job generation
Government to develop 15 cultural sites and five medical tourism hubs while launching seaplane incentives and seven high-speed rail corridors to boost growth
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of measures in her Budget 2026-27 speech in Parliament on Sunday (February 1) aimed at promoting the tourism sector, including medical tourism.
Developing cultural tourism
In a push to highlight the tourism potential of the country’s cultural assets, she unveiled plans to develop 15 archaeological sites into top cultural destinations, intending to change the concept from sightseeing to a more experience-based one. The goal is to preserve India’s cultural heritage, something that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies often underscore, and make it more accessible and engaging. From the economic point of view, the idea is to attract more travellers, from domestic and international.
Sitharaman's tourism push
- Fifteen archaeological sites will be developed into experience-led destinations
- Lothal, Sarnath and Hastinapur are among the key picks
- Govt looks to boost domestic and foreign travel, protect heritage and create local jobs
- Seven high-speed rail corridors will link major city pairs as green connectors
- Incentives and a viability gap funding scheme will support manufacturing, operations for last-mile links
- Five regional hubs will be built with private partners to attract global patients
- Emphasis on adventure and ecotourism
The key sites that Sitharaman proposed to develop include Lothal (Gujarat), Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) and Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh). The goal is to improve the infrastructure, interpretation centres, curated cultural experiences, and improved connectivity, to make “vibrant experiential destinations”.
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By means of improving the tourism sites, the government seeks to generate local employment, promote a robust conservation of heritage, and also position India’s ancient sites as storytelling landmarks instead of just relics of the past.
Rail corridors, seaplane services
In the budget, it was also revealed that the government aims to develop seven high-speed rail corridors between cities as connectors of growth. The thinking behind this is to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems. The corridors are those between Mumbai and Pune; Pune and Hyderabad; Hyderabad and Bengaluru; Hyderabad and Chennai; Chennai and Bengaluru; Delhi and Varanasi; and Varanasi and Siliguri.
Sitharaman also proposed to incentivise the manufacturing of seaplanes as another step towards promoting tourism and improving last-mile and remote connectivity.
Also read: Union Budget 2026 lays out big infra push with capex, waterways focus
“I propose to give incentives to indigenised manufacturing of seaplanes. A sea plan VGF (viability gap funding) scheme will also be introduced to provide support for operations,” she said in her speech.
It may be mentioned here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing the recently held Wings India 2026 event in Hyderabad that the government is focusing on the next stage of the UDAN (ude desh ka aam nagrik) scheme, which will strengthen regional and affordable air connectivity, alongside the expansion of seaplane services, so that every nook and corner of the country is connected. The Centre also awarded 48 seaplane routes in October last year to different airlines under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Vision for medical tourism
In a major step announced in Budget 2026-27, Sitharaman also outlined an ambitious plan to turn India into a global hub for medical tourism. She announced the government’s backing to set up five regional medical tourism hubs through tie-ups with the private sector.
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The scheme eyes to help states set up large-scale, integrated healthcare destinations that not only make the domestic healthcare infrastructure robust but also attract a larger number of international patients.
These hubs will be comprehensive healthcare complexes, bringing modern hospital infrastructure, post-treatment care, rehabilitation services, and AYUSH systems under one roof.
In addition to enhancing foreign exchange and international standing, the initiative is anticipated to create a variety of job opportunities for physicians, nurses, allied health professionals (AHPs), technicians, and support personnel, thereby transforming healthcare into a catalyst for both economic and employment growth.
Emphasising on India's potential in adventure and ecotourism, Sitharaman also announced plans to develop ecologically sustainable mountain trails in Himalayan states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and also in areas in the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats, such as Araku Valley (Andhra Pradesh) and Pothogai Malai (Tamil Nadu), respectively.