On October 31, a conference on linking the development of medical tourism between Ho Chi Minh City and provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta and Southeast regions was held in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said that in Ho Chi Minh City, about 30 - 40% of visitors for medical examination and treatment come from outside the province and internationally, mainly from Cambodia and Laos with the increasing number of visitors from the US, Australia, Canada, Japan and the overseas Vietnamese community.
These figures show that the potential for exploiting and developing medical tourism in Ho Chi Minh City is huge, especially the opportunity to maximize the potential strengths of the super city of Ho Chi Minh City after the merger.
Currently, the city has 162 hospitals, more than 9,000 specialized clinics and 351 private specialized and general clinics. A team of high-quality, affordable medical human resources is an important foundation for developing medical tourism.
According to Ms. Vo Ngoc Diep - Head of Tourism Management Department of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the city has many advantages to develop medical tourism. However, there are still difficulties in terms of professional human resources, promotional activities and products.
In particular, the city lacks tour guides and coordinators who have not been trained in medical knowledge and translation skills. Meanwhile, medical tourism products are still single and lack connectivity.
Sharing about traditional medicine tourism, Dr. Truong Thi Ngoc Lan - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine said that after COVID-19, tourists tend to seek physical - mental recovery services, stress reduction and energy balance. Traditional medicine with acupuncture, massage, meditation, gas medicine, herbs, nutrition methods... meets this need.
Along with the increase in tourists coming to Vietnam, domestic medical tourism is enjoying a competitive advantage thanks to reasonable costs, treatment effectiveness and unique cultural identity of Eastern medicine.
To develop this product group, Ms. Ngoc Lan suggested that it is necessary to perfect the management model, standardize traditional medicine services and train human resources in the direction of combining healthcare - tourism.
At the same time, it strengthens the link between tourism businesses and traditional medicine establishments and promotes the Vietnamese traditional medicine brand internationally.
Previously, on October 29 - 30, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism organized a survey program, introducing and promoting hospitals, medical facilities, accommodation and health care facilities participating in the Ho Chi Minh City health tourism program.
The survey activities aim to strengthen the value chain connection between the healthcare - tourism industry, develop inter-regional products combined with health care, energy recovery and local cultural experiences, aiming at the goal of developing sustainable, humane and high-class tourism.
