Many advantages for developing medical tourism
In Viet Nam, healthcare activities combined with tourism have existed for a long time, but medical tourism in the modern sense has only truly developed over the past decade, alongside the modernisation of the healthcare system and the development of the tourism industry.
To date, medical tourism in Viet Nam has achieved some initial results, based on the professional capacity of the country's healthcare system. Reports and statistics show that around 300,000 international visitors use healthcare services in Viet Nam each year, with total spending by this group estimated at 1-2 billion USD, including medical service costs as well as accommodation, travel, and food expenses.
Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Khanh Hoa, and other localities are gradually developing medical tourism products based on specialised or prestigious healthcare systems, the expertise of leading professors and doctors, or their strengths in wellness tourism and traditional medicine.
However, medical tourists visiting Viet Nam are mainly overseas Vietnamese and visitors from Cambodia, Laos, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, and some European countries, using specialised services such as cosmetic dentistry, assisted reproduction, cosmetic surgery, general health check-ups, and several high-tech medical services.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese people spend 2-3 billion USD each year on medical examinations and treatment abroad, exceeding the total revenue generated by medical tourists. This highlights the need to improve service quality, build a brand, and enhance the competitiveness of Viet Nam's healthcare sector.
Experts have pointed out that Viet Nam has many advantages for developing medical tourism, including abundant tourism resources with numerous natural and cultural heritage sites recognised by the world, competitive healthcare costs, highly qualified medical professionals, and a long-standing traditional medicine heritage.
Viet Nam has another important competitive advantage: a stable political and social environment and guaranteed security. In terms of medical examination and treatment capacity, Viet Nam currently has around 100 specialised healthcare facilities, including 13 hospitals meeting JCI standards, a leading US-based global set of standards for assessing service quality and patient safety, concentrated in Ha Noi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Many healthcare facilities have mastered complex techniques such as robotic surgery, organ transplantation, cardiovascular intervention, cancer treatment, and assisted reproduction, as well as advanced techniques in ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, and dentistry.
Notably, Vietnamese traditional medicine has a long history, with treatment methods such as acupuncture, acupressure, massage, and the use of traditional medicinal herbs gradually gaining international recognition. These capabilities have been identified as an important foundation for developing medical tourism products that combine healthcare services with tourism and wellness activities.
Clear policies, roadmap, and specific legal framework needed
The global medical tourism market is estimated to be worth around 100 billion USD, with annual growth projected at 8-16% through 2035. The Asia-Pacific region is forecast to grow at a higher rate than the global average. This presents significant room for Viet Nam to capitalise on its strengths and promote medical tourism to attract international visitors while retaining domestic patients. However, fully tapping this potential requires substantial efforts, including clear policies, a specific roadmap, and a legal framework.
The Ministry of Health is currently coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to develop the “Medical Tourism Development Project for 2026-2030”, with the goal of making Viet Nam one of the most competitive medical tourism destinations in Southeast Asia and gradually moving into the leading group in Asia, with an integrated service chain ranging from modern medicine and traditional medicine and pharmacy to rehabilitation and comprehensive healthcare services approaching international standards.
The project will be implemented in two phases: 2026-2028 and 2029-2030. Viet Nam is expected to have at least 20 hospitals meeting international quality standards, with 30 standardised medical tourism packages developed and put into operation. A multilingual national medical tourism information portal and a national medical tourism database are also expected to become operational.
Notably, a national brand identity for “Viet Nam Medical Tourism” will be issued and implemented consistently. By 2030, Viet Nam is expected to welcome around 750,000 international medical tourists, while targeting direct revenue from medical examination, treatment, and healthcare services of around 1 billion USD and total spending by visitors and accompanying persons of around 2.5 billion USD.
To realise these targets, the project has set out five groups of specific tasks and solutions with a clear roadmap. In recent years, many localities across the country, including Ha Noi, Da Nang, and Lam Dong, have developed plans to promote medical tourism based on their respective strengths.
Ha Noi is developing a project on medical tourism development in the capital for 2026-2030, with a vision to 2045. Dr Nguyen Dinh Hung, Deputy Director of the Ha Noi Department of Health, said the city is gradually building and promoting the brand “Ha Noi — Viet Nam's high-quality healthcare centre”, aiming to become a leading healthcare and medical tourism destination in Southeast Asia.
To make dentistry one of the pioneering fields of Viet Nam's medical tourism industry, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Cao Binh, Director of the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology in Ha Noi, said units must regard quality and safety as the foundation and put international patients at the centre.
Development should follow international standards while being suited to Viet Nam's conditions. Specifically, it is necessary to develop a Vietnamese dental tourism ecosystem and build a national brand positioned around quality, safety, value, and experience.
A network of capable facilities should be established to form the Viet Nam Dental Tourism Network. This should be accompanied by the development of strategic dental products, with priority given to dental implants, full-mouth rehabilitation, cosmetic dentistry, digital dentistry, and orthodontics.
According to Prof. Dr. and People's Doctor Do Tat Cuong, Chairman of the clinical advisory council of the Vinmec healthcare system, promoting medical tourism comprehensively in Viet Nam requires the involvement of multiple relevant ministries, sectors, and localities.
Integrated healthcare-tourism-culture communications should be conducted in international markets; a multilingual national medical tourism information platform should be developed; policies should be introduced to issue medical tourism visas for patients and their relatives; and supporting services such as transport, accommodation, and sightseeing should be developed.
Healthcare facilities, for their part, need to offer service packages with transparent costs and ensure that high-quality, specialised, and multidisciplinary medical examination and treatment is closely supervised and managed by competent authorities.
Dr. Ha Anh Duc, Head of the Department of Medical Service Administration under the Ministry of Health — the standing agency responsible for developing the “Medical Tourism Development Project for 2026-2030”, said agencies and localities need to identify their key areas of strength to formulate investment and development plans. Traditional medicine and rehabilitation, he noted, offer unique advantages in medicinal herbs and non-pharmacological therapies and are highly attractive to Western tourists.
Relevant agencies are currently working urgently to study and develop a set of standards for hospitals, clinics, and healthcare facilities participating in the medical tourism network. This will be accompanied by a mechanism for healthcare service pricing, as well as communications and promotion to portray Viet Nam as a prestigious destination for treatment, healthcare, rehabilitation, cosmetic services, and traditional medicine.
