It targets total spending by them and their accompanying persons of $2.5 billion including on accommodation, transportation, food, shopping, leisure, and related services.
These are outlined in a medical tourism development strategy for 2026-2030 that the Ministry of Health is circulating for public feedback.
The plan seeks to make Vietnam a competitive medical tourism destination in Southeast Asia and gradually bring it closer to the leading destinations in Asia.
It covers a broad range of services, including both modern and traditional medicine, rehabilitation, wellness care, and elderly care.
Healthcare combined with tourism has existed in Vietnam for years, but modern medical tourism has only gained traction over the past decade, according to the ministry.
The country has a relatively large healthcare system. As of 2025, there were 2,107 hospitals with more than 339,000 beds and 105,000 doctors.
The specialized healthcare system comprises 103 hospitals, including 13 providing highly advanced medical services, mainly in Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Some hospitals have mastered complex procedures like robotic surgery, organ transplantation, cardiovascular interventions, cancer treatment, assisted reproduction, and advanced treatments in ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat care, and dentistry.
Around 300,000 foreign visitors are estimated to use medical services in Vietnam each year, spending an estimated at US$1-2 billion though medical costs are not tracked separately.
Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are the country’s main medical tourism hubs, with the former accounting for 40% of international medical tourists.
Da Nang, Hue, and Khanh Hoa are developing services that combine healthcare, wellness, and tourism.
International visitors mainly seek dental care, cosmetic procedures, assisted reproduction, general health checkups, and some high-tech specialties.
They include overseas Vietnamese besides visitors from Cambodia, Laos, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and several European countries.
|
A doctor uses a surgical robot to treat cervical cancer at a hospital in Vietnam. Photo by Manh Tran |
The ministry considers the medical tourism market to have “great potential,” but says it faces some major obstacles.
One of the biggest is the lack of a dedicated and comprehensive legal framework covering the entire medical tourism chain. Current regulations are scattered across laws governing healthcare, tourism, pricing, immigration, insurance, and personal data protection.
Besides, there are no criteria for recognizing healthcare facilities qualified to provide medical tourism services. Rules governing the resolution of medical disputes involving foreigners and the protection and cross-border transfer of medical data also need to be developed.
Vietnam faces stiff competition from established medical tourism destinations in the region like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan.
The country has much fewer hospitals recognized by the Joint Commission International, a U.S.-based international healthcare accreditation organization, than Thailand and Malaysia. It has 13 of them and three others accredited by ACHS International, an Australian healthcare quality and safety accreditation body.
Support services also remain underdeveloped, as does the ability to offer integrated packages combining medical care, accommodation, tourism, and leisure.
Healthcare workers, nurses, and support staff lack language skills, cross-cultural communication abilities, and service capabilities needed to effectively serve foreign patients.
Specialized positions such as medical tourism coordinators, medical interpreters, international insurance coordinators, and international patient advisers also lack dedicated training and staffing systems.
Insurance is another problem: Direct payment arrangements between Vietnamese healthcare providers and international insurers are only available at some private hospitals and not at public facilities, which limits Vietnam’s ability to attract patients covered by international health insurance.
 |
|
Intensive care equipment at a Vietnam’s hospital. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran |
Vietnamese spend an estimated $2-3 billion a year seeking medical treatment abroad, more than the spending by overseas visitors in Vietnam.
The strategy therefore aims not only to attract foreign patients but also to improve domestic healthcare services and reduce the number of Vietnamese seeking treatment overseas.
The proposed measures include having at least 20 hospitals meeting international quality standards such as JCI, ACHS, or equivalent by 2030, at least five of them public.
It also seeks to develop and standardize at least 30 medical tourism packages covering the entire process before, during, and after treatment, focusing on health screening, dentistry, traditional medicine, and certain advanced treatments.
It targets a satisfaction rate of at least 90% among international medical tourists.
By 2028, Vietnam is expected to launch a multilingual national medical tourism portal and a national medical tourism database.
A unified national brand identity for “Vietnam Medical Tourism” will also be developed.
The plan focuses on six key pillars: improving access to services and administrative procedures, finance and service pricing, quality management, cooperation and investment, data governance, and patient protection and dispute resolution.
Authorities will work on visa, entry, and stay arrangements tailored for patients and accompanying persons.
The strategy also aims to promote public-private partnerships and investment and develop suitable insurance products.
Experts had estimated last year that Vietnam’s medical tourism industry could generate $4 billion in revenues by 2033 if it receives proper investment.