India’s wellness travel industry is estimated to be a $2.54 billion industry | Vijay Kumar Karai

Ayurveda is considered one of the oldest treatments that makes use of only natural herbs to cure one’s illness. Vijay Kumar Karai, Founder & CEO, AyurUniverse discusses the impact Ayurveda can have in one’s living and how his company has designed therapies that open blocked channels of circulation leading to a better life. By Tanuvi Joe 

What are the various product and service offerings at AyurUniverse?
AyurUniverse offers over 2500 wellness programmes from over 300 verified wellness centers in India and Sri Lanka. These all-inclusive packages range from three to 30 days for beauty care, de-stress, detoxification/ panchakarma, rejuvenation, weight management, wellness breaks, Yoga retreats, internationally recognised Yoga teacher training as well as ailment management programmes for Arthritis, Diabetes and much more.

How do these products contribute to the better wellness of an individual?
Ayurveda uses natural herbs to ensure a holistic experience that is free from any side effects. It is one of the oldest systems of medicine that practices holistic principles primarily focused on personalised health. Ayurveda therapies and practices are derived from ancient scriptures like Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita (400 BC–200 AD), which give detailed descriptions of over 700 herbs and 6,000 formulations. Ayurvedic treatments are prescribed based on one’s Prakriti or body composition.

One of our services include, our Aliment management packages where we use Ayurveda to offer a safe and effective treatment for ailments/ serious health conditions like Arthritis, Diabetes, Bi Polar, Psoriasis and much more. Therapies here are focussed on curing the root cause of the disease by cleansing the channels of circulation, strengthening digestion with a customised meal plan and by practising with Yoga and meditation.

How does AyurUniverse position themselves in the Indian wellness market?
AyurUniverse is accredited by the Ministry of Tourism, Goverment of India and it aggregates and promotes traditional Indian wellness systems like Ayurveda, Yoga, meditation, Siddha, Kalari, Marma Chikitsa to customers worldwide.

India’s wellness travel industry is estimated to be a $2.54 billion industry currently and estimated to double by 2020. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy, which encompasses 10 diverse sectors, was worth an estimated $3.7 trillion in 2015 growing at a 10 per cent CAGR. At AyurUniverse, we want to offer a state-of-the-art marketing platform that does not dilute or restrict the growth of these traditional wellness systems and reach out to wellness enthusiasts from across the world through our easy-to-use portal.

Compared to the existing competitors in the market, what makes AyurUniverse unique?
While there are international aggregators who are using technology to boost traditional Indian wellness systems like Ayurveda and Yoga to wellness enthusiasts from across the world. Today through AyurUniverse, several small or mid-sized Ayurvedic centres which are operated by expert doctors but have a limited or no marketing budget are reaching out to a global audience to grow their revenues. AyurUniverse is also reaching out to the Indian market ensuring wellness centers are not dependent on the peak season for guests / occupancies.

Going forward, what are the company’s business plans?
Right now, our website is available only in English. We are planning to go multilingual, so we would be able to reach out to more customers whether they are sitting in China, Russia, Germany or whichever part of the world. AyurUniverse also plans to use advanced AI analytics to give its customers unbiased user rating of wellness centres. We are even planning to enter the secondary wellness market- where people coming for a holiday want to include some Ayurve