A public-private partnership model for sustainable employment of Ayurveda graduates through wellness tourism in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka produces graduates in Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani medicine through publicly funded education, yet their professional competencies are not always fully utilized within coordinated public wellbeing and wellness tourism systems. The issue is not only graduate unemployment, but also limited formal public-sector absorption, fragmented employment pathways, weak regulation, and insufficient use of graduate knowledge in clinical care, medicine-related activities, research, rehabilitation, and community health. At the same time, global demand for wellness tourism and holistic healthcare continues to expand. This concept paper proposes a public–private partnership model for sustainable employment and meaningful professional utilization of Ayurveda graduates through wellness tourism in Sri Lanka. The study adopts a conceptual policy analysis approach based on secondary sources related to Ayurveda workforce utilization, wellness and health tourism, public–private partnerships, herbal product development, rehabilitation, community health, and traditional medicine policy. The proposed framework links Ayurveda graduates with regulated Ayurveda wellness centres, Panchakarma and specialized traditional therapy units, Ayurveda pharmacies, herbal product development, wellness tourism services, research and evidence generation, rehabilitation, and community-based preventive care. The originality of the model lies in organizing existing and underdeveloped Ayurveda-related opportunities into a coordinated, quality-assured, and financially oriented public–private partnership structure. The model may support sustainable employment, professional recognition, public wellbeing, wellness tourism development, and local value addition. However, as the framework is conceptual, further stakeholder consultation, financial feasibility assessment, pilot implementation, and empirical evaluation are required before national-scale application.