Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – The medical and wellness offer is taken into high consideration in the tourism development strategies of the southern megalopolis. The number of visitors taking advantage of a trip to seek treatment in the city continues to grow.
A few years ago that the megalopolis of the South designed models of health tourism, seeing that the number of travelers opting for this type of service was constantly increasing. In 2019, the Municipal Tourism Service began to develop concrete programs in cooperation with that of health, before proposing in September of the same year specific services and products during a conference presenting the potential of medical tourism in the city.
Many ideas have taken shape since this seminar, making it possible to clarify the notion of medical tourism (health tourism or hospital tourism). According to experts in the sector, this form of tourism consists of being treated in a country other than the one where you live, for economy or to benefit from the care and prices that are only available abroad.
According to Nguyên Thi Anh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Municipal Tourism Service, apart from the services and products of river tourism, ecotourism or agrotourism, those of medical tourism are among the flagship models of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City in particular.
According to data from the Municipal Tourism Service, the number of foreigners coming to Vietnam for treatment has been steadily increasing over the years, generating a turnover of around USD 2 billion. In 2018 alone, they were around 300,000, 40% of which in Ho Chi Minh City alone. These figures show the great development potential of medical tourism.
A royal road
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Presentation of medical tourism products at the 2019 Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair. Photo: hochiminhcity.gov.vn–In 2019, more than 18 million foreign tourists visited Vietnam, an increase of 16.2% year-on-year. According to the World Tourism Organization, the six major tourism trends in the future will be: medical tourism, responsible tourism, ecotourism, community tourism, smart tourism and creative tourism.
In the context where Vietnam is appreciated for its effectiveness in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the southern megalopolis officially inaugurated on July 17 its site dedicated to health tourism at the address www.dulichytetphcm.com, the first of its kind in Vietnam. This site provides information on the addresses of health establishments in the city, public or private. Many services are offered as tours in combination with beauty treatments, consultations in gynecology, dentistry and traditional medicine, among others.
In the times to come, many products and models combining tourism and health will continue to be offered to attract more tourists to the city.
For Nguyên Huu Y Yên, director of the Saigontourist tour operator, health tourism is a royal road. It is a real trend, which has experienced dizzying development for several years. “The diversification of this kind of tourism is very important. We should move towards even more demanding services, at the request of visitors, by combining classic tourist circuits with medical services,” he said. – CVN / VNA
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