HCM City holds great potential for medical tourism
Aside from cultural and historical tourism, Ho Chi Minh City also boasts potential for medical tourism thanks to the concentration of many leading hospitals of Vietnam, heard a workshop held on September 4.
The workshop on September 4 was part of the 15th International Travel Expo HCM City (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – Aside from cultural andhistorical tourism, Ho Chi Minh City also boasts potential for medical tourismthanks to the concentration of many leading hospitals of Vietnam, heard aworkshop held on September 4.
Deputy Director of the municipal TourismDepartment Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa cited statistics as showing the number offoreigners coming to Vietnam for both healthcare and tourism has been rising,generating an annual revenue of some 2 billion USD.
In 2018, about 300,000 foreigners came toreceive medical examination in the country, including 57,000 inpatients, andabout 40 percent of them chose HCM City as their destination.
These figures indicate HCM City holds hugepotential for medical tourism, Hoa said.
She added according to the World TourismOrganisation, medical tourism is among the future global travel trends.Therefore, developing this type of tourism is in line with the global trendswhile helping diversify tourism products and attract more visitors to HCM City.
At the workshop, part of the 15th InternationalTravel Expo HCM City, local healthcare establishments introduced traditionalmedicine along with low-cost and high-quality medical services for tourists.
The municipal Department of Health alsointroduced a mobile app for searching local healthcare examination andtreatment facilities. The English version of this app is expected to debut inearly 2020.-VNA
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and Department of Health on May 23 released a bilingual Medical Tourism Guide with basic information about travel and healthcare in the city.
Boosting connectivity with localities nationwide is a key solution Ho Chi Minh City is using to develop tourism sustainably and promote its role as a major economic, cultural and tourist hub of Vietnam.
A forum was held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 4 to promote sustainable tourism connectivity between the southern economic hub and the 13 city and provinces in the Mekong Delta.
A gala themed Huong sac Viet Nam (Soulful Vietnam) was held by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism on September 4 to kick off the 15th International Travel Expo – Ho Chi Minh City (ITE-HCMC) 2019.
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The workshop on September 4 was part of the 15th International Travel Expo HCM City (Photo: VNA) 
