Image: India has a "rich heritage" in wellness

Indian tourism minister Shri Subodh Kant Sahai has called for the "strengthening" of the country's wellness tourism offer, with the sector identified as one of its Niche Tourism Products.

Sahai said India should look to capitalise on its health tourism potential, while highlighting its "rich heritage of wellness traditions" and existing services available to tourists.

It comes as the R Spa at New Delhi's Radisson Blu hotel became one of India's first hotel spas to secure National Accreditation Board for Hospital and Healthcare Providers (NABH) recognition.

NABH has recently drawn up guidelines for the accreditation of wellness centres across the country, with six already receiving accreditation - including spas.

Five applications are currently in the pipeline, three Ayurveda hospitals have been accredited and 11 applications are under process, according to Sahai.

Meanwhile, a committee focusing on wellness tourism has been established and will discuss a range of issues relating to development and promotion of the sector.

India has been chosen to host next year's Global Spa and Wellness Summit (GSWS) - the annual event bringing together industry representatives most recently held in the US.

Held at the Aspen Institute in Colorado, 325 leading spa professionals were in attendance at the 2012 GSWS under the theme Innovation through Imagination.

Click here to read more about an impressive list of speakers and the issues discussed at the Global Spa and Wellness Summit held on 3-6 June 2012.

Global Spa and Wellness Summit has made the contents from this year's event available for download free of charge - click here for more information.

For a more in-depth review of the Global Spa and Wellness Summit, see the upcoming issue of Spa Business - 2012 Issue 3

To read the current issue of Spa Business, visit: www.spabusiness.com/magazine

Image: Valery Kraynov/shutterstock.com