When will Ho Chi Minh City hospitals become tourist destinations?

Ho Chi Minh City is expected to become a new destination for medical and health tourism. However, to turn this potential into a real competitive advantage, the city needs to solve the problems of infrastructure, human resources and coordination mechanisms between healthcare and tourism.

Experts at the seminar - Photo: H.THANH

After the merger, Ho Chi Minh City not only expanded its population and infrastructure, but also gathered many 5-star hotels, modern medical facilities, and a team of good doctors... This is a great advantage for the city to develop medical tourism, combining treatment with cultural and resort experiences.

Many experts commented like that at the seminar "Formation and development of medical - health tourism in Ho Chi Minh City", organized by Ho Chi Minh City Women's Newspaper on August 31 in Ho Chi Minh City.

"Health" gift from Ho Chi Minh City for international tourists

Speaking at the seminar, Ms. Ha Thi Hong Linh, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Traditional Medicine, said that Vietnamese traditional medicine has a long history, many unique techniques and rich medicinal resources, creating a unique feature compared to many countries in the region. This is also an advantage for developing the type of medical tourism that many countries are focusing on. However, to turn potential into real advantages, there are still many barriers.

One of the biggest challenges now is infrastructure. "If a travel company brings 40-50 foreign tourists for treatment at the same time, many traditional medicine hospitals will be confused due to lack of space and human resources," Ms. Linh said.

According to Ms. Linh, tourists come from many countries, not only using English but also Korean, Chinese, etc. Therefore, the hospital must train more staff with foreign language skills to meet the demand.

The issue of service prices is also a problem. When international guests come through a travel agency, how will the hospital calculate the cost, what is the discount rate for travel agencies, who will support international payment procedures… All need a clear, transparent mechanism to operate effectively.

A bright spot is that the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Traditional Medicine is currently one of the first facilities in the country to meet GMP standards in the production of traditional pharmaceuticals. According to Ms. Linh, these standard products will be an advantage, becoming prestigious health gifts for tourists to bring home.

"The potential for medical tourism combined with traditional medicine in Vietnam is huge, but to truly exploit it, we need to invest more in infrastructure, human resource training and perfect the international price and payment mechanism," Ms. Linh emphasized.

A healing journey combined with cultural experience

From another perspective, Mr. Ho Manh Tuong, professional advisor of the Reproductive Support Unit of My Duc Hospital, said that Vietnam needs to choose key areas to develop medical tourism.

He emphasized that medical tourism is only suitable for healthy patients who can participate in recreational activities in parallel with treatment. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is considered one of the great potentials.

"Infertile couples are often still in good health and can combine treatment with travel. The IVF process requires many follow-up visits and lasts for several weeks, giving them time to stay and experience the destination," Mr. Tuong analyzed.

Currently, My Duc Hospital receives 400-500 foreign couples for treatment each year. Vietnam's biggest advantage is that the cost is only 1/3 of that of countries in the region and 1/5 of that of developed countries , while the success rate is very high , proven through many scientific studies published in international journals.

According to statistics, the country currently has 60 units performing IVF , forming a system of specialized and methodical medical facilities, creating a favorable foundation for developing medical tourism combined with infertility treatment .

Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa , deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said the city will focus first on its strengths such as dentistry and beauty, and then expand. "To create attraction, close public-private cooperation is needed, linking medical examination and treatment services with tourism experiences," he said.

Ho Chi Minh City will also study the actual needs of customers, learning from the "hospital - hotel" model of Thailand or the "resort hospital" of Germany. The city is currently implementing the overall project.

Speaking at the seminar, Ms. Ly Viet Trung - editor-in-chief of Ho Chi Minh City Women's Newspaper - emphasized: "Ho Chi Minh City not only has a team of good doctors and modern medical centers, but also has dedication and care - the most valuable 'medicine' to take care of people's health. This potential needs to be exploited to make Ho Chi Minh City a reliable destination for medical tourism in the region".

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THUY DUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/den-khi-nao-benh-vien-tp-hcm-tro-thanh-diem-hen-du-lich-2025083117330286.htm