With a long-standing traditional medicine, effective treatment and a variety of precious indigenous herbs, Vietnam has full potential to develop health care tourism , especially traditional medicine tourism products.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, tourists are increasingly concerned about health factors in their travel itineraries, especially in the context of climate change and increasing environmental pollution. This is an opportunity to develop unique traditional Vietnamese medical services and products to attract tourists.
A promising direction
According to statistics, Vietnam owns about 400 hot mineral water sources with high value in treatment, nursing and health care. Along with that are more than 5,000 species of plants and fungi, more than 400 species of animals and 75 types of minerals with medicinal uses. Not only that, Vietnam also owns a long-standing and rich treasure of traditional ethnic medical knowledge with many valuable remedies, whose effectiveness has been confirmed over time...
This is an invaluable resource for developing the pharmaceutical and traditional medicine industry, serving the health care of the people and tourists. Associate Professor, Dr. Dau Xuan Canh, Chairman of the Vietnam Oriental Medicine Association, said that currently, health and beauty are two factors that the world is very interested in. Treatment with products derived from natural herbs is especially popular because it has high value in treatment, is benign, and has few side effects. Survey results from the World Health Tourism Association show that up to 76% of respondents said they are willing to spend more on health-improving trips and 55% of people will pay more for psychological services or therapy activities. This shows that developing health care tourism in general, and traditional medicine tourism in particular, is a very potential direction in attracting high-spending, long-stay tourists. From there, it not only helps promote and advertise the strengths of Vietnamese traditional medicine, but also helps diversify tourism products and improve the competitiveness of the country's "green economy ".
Anticipating the above trend, in recent times, a number of localities in Vietnam have paid more attention to developing healthcare tourism, in which Ho Chi Minh City has emerged as a pioneering destination. In 2023, the city's health and tourism sector announced 30 combo tour programs combining medical tourism and healthcare suitable for domestic and international tourist markets. Notably, in coordination with travel companies, the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine has welcomed hundreds of international tourists to experience medical tourism products and traditional treatments in the past year. The Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine located in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City has become a place for domestic and international tourists to visit and experience for many years. In 2023, Da Nang Traditional Medicine Hospital also examined and treated thousands of international visitors, most of whom were from Korea, the US, etc. However, in general assessment of the appearance of traditional medicine tourism in Vietnam, experts all said that development has not been commensurate with its potential, is not consistent, lacks attractiveness, and has not created a brand for products and services. Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Tour Guide Association Bui Van Dung said that currently, health care tourism in Vietnam is only inclined towards activities such as relaxation, beauty, etc. and is mainly carried out in resorts. There are not many tours that help visitors directly experience the production process of traditional medicine products, listen to experts introduce the process, meaning, and effects of the products, and buy products directly at the place of production, etc.
Build into mainstream tourism
In order to make Vietnamese traditional medicine a key tourism product line with high quality, bringing economic efficiency to tourism and healthcare, the Ministry of Health has issued Decision 2951/QD-BYT approving the Project on Developing Traditional Medicine Services and Products for Tourists by 2030. Five lines of traditional medicine services and products for tourists are focused on building: Health care tourism using traditional medicine (chain of medical examination and treatment facilities; rehabilitation, sauna, massage, acupressure, physiotherapy, etc.); aesthetic tourism using traditional medicine (chain of hospitals, beauty facilities, spas, etc.); medicinal and traditional medicine tourism (providing sightseeing and shopping services for medicinal herbs and traditional medicines for tourists at a chain of medicinal production facilities, medicinal herb growing areas, etc.); Traditional medicine and indigenous culture discovery tourism (providing services for sightseeing, learning, exploring, shopping, experiencing and using unique traditional medicine services in regions and localities, enjoying dishes with traditional medicine characteristics according to regions, etc.); traditional medicine and pharmacy academic tourism (organizing training classes and short-term courses on some simple disease prevention and treatment skills using traditional medicine methods, etc.). Immediately after the Project was approved, many provinces and cities simultaneously issued implementation plans based on the potential and strengths of the locality, promising a breakthrough in traditional medicine and pharmacy tourism in Vietnam.
According to tourism expert, Master Truong Thi Bich Ngoc, despite its abundant potential, Vietnam's traditional medicine tourism products are still poor, the number of establishments recognized as meeting standards for serving tourists is still small, the human resources are still thin, and technical facilities are also limited... Therefore, it is necessary to have policies to mobilize social resources in investment, upgrading infrastructure, technology, improving the quality of services and traditional medicine products serving tourists; promptly implementing the recognition of establishments, products and services that meet standards; having a roadmap for training and fostering professional human resources to ensure adequate qualifications and skills to serve tourists.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Lien, Deputy General Director of Sao Thai Duong Joint Stock Company, in the immediate future, there needs to be a combination to standardize health care processes according to traditional medicine and tourism. “Our approach is to use evidence and scientific research to confirm the effectiveness of natural herbs. We have strengths in herbs, combined with traditional techniques, we will create a very unique method, with Vietnamese identity,” Ms. Huong Lien emphasized. Commenting on the importance of the connection between tourism professionals and traditional medicine practitioners, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Hong Long, Head of the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) commented: In fact, some forms of health tourism have appeared in Vietnam, but there are very few specialized tours, mainly stopping at single experiences such as hot mineral baths, spas, massages, acupressure, etc. Meanwhile, today's tourists not only have the need for physical health care but also for mental health care. Therefore, it is necessary to have a close connection between suppliers of traditional medicine products and services with travel companies to form complete products, bringing a complete experience to tourists...
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