Ho Chi Minh City aims to attract 300,000 international medical tourists by 2030

The city is fully equipped to become a top medical and leisure tourism center in the region, Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, deputy director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said on Friday. 

She made the remark at a conference on linking medical tourism development between Ho Chi Minh City and provinces in the Mekong Delta and Southeast region. 

The conference also marks the beginning of building a comprehensive health and wellness tourism ecosystem, helping promote the image of Ho Chi Minh City as a destination for health, experience, and happiness.

As of July 1, Ho Chi Minh City has 162 hospitals, more than 9,000 specialized clinics, and 351 private general and specialty clinics staffed by highly qualified doctors.

The city has attracted patients from Cambodia and Laos for medical treatment, while the number from the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Japan continues to grow.

Overseas Vietnamese are also increasingly choosing the city for medical services, health care, cosmetic treatment, and dental care.

Travel companies note that medical service costs in Vietnam are only 30 to 50 percent of those in Singapore or Thailand, which gives the city a strong advantage in designing medical tourism tours that can compete with destinations of similar healthcare quality.

Developing medical tourism could increase visitor spending and extend the length of stays in the city.

By 2030, Ho Chi Minh City aims to attract 300,000 international visitors through an integrated model combining hospitals, hotels, and leisure tourism.

This provides an opportunity to offer more high-quality medical tourism products and diversify tourism offerings to better meet visitor needs.