According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the number of tourists coming to Vietnam for medical treatment has increased steadily over the years, with a revenue of about 2 billion USD/year. On average, each year there are about 300,000 foreign tourists coming to Vietnam for medical treatment, of which 40% are concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, to attract tourists, the Department of Tourism has connected with more than 50 units including hospitals, medical facilities, spas, travel agencies, tourist accommodations... to build medical tourism products to introduce to the people and tourists.
Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism. Photo: Organizing Committee
According to Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in 2023, the City included medical tourism in the draft tourism development strategy, so the Department has had many activities and solutions to exploit the potential of this type of tourism. Specifically, the Department has coordinated with travel businesses in Ho Chi Minh City with medical units to build more than 30 medical tourism products. The common point of the medical tourism products announced on this occasion is using health care services at reputable, quality hospitals, experiencing high-class services; eating, shopping, relaxing combined with visiting famous relics and destinations of Ho Chi Minh City. In particular, there are 3 other medical services that are currently of great interest to tourists: general health check-ups, disease screening and performing specialized techniques and traditional medicine.
Signing ceremony of service provision with units participating in medical tourism products in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Organizing Committee
"In the immediate future, to promote medical tourism products, the tourism industry will revise the 2018 Medical Tourism Handbook, with concise, clear, and effective content, adding more languages (English, Thai, Cambodian, Lao, Chinese) so that domestic and international tourists can research, participate in tour programs, and have practical experiences in the locality. At the same time, we will organize promotions and advertising of medical tourism products to attract tourists in the Cambodian market and survey and learn from experiences in developing medical tourism models in Thailand; organize booths to introduce and promote medical tourism within the framework of the 17th Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair in 2023 to attract more tourists to the city" - Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu informed.
At the announcement ceremony, the signing of service contracts with units participating in medical tourism products was carried out. Accordingly, the Department of Tourism and the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City will coordinate to support tourism businesses in completing medical tourism product packages suitable for domestic and international tourist markets, focusing mainly on the ASEAN tourism market.
