Opening the way for medical tourism in Quang Nam

Tourists experience herbal massage in a restaurant in Tra Que vegetable village (Hoi An city). Photo: QUOC TUAN

Future trends

Basically, medical tourism is a combination of medical services and tourism, arising from the need for health care at a reasonable cost, higher quality of service or access to modern treatment methods that are not available locally.

According to the forecast of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), medical tourism will be one of the six development trends of world tourism.

Ms. Ngo Thi Kim Yen - President of the Da Nang City Medical Association said that medical tourism is not only a creative economic model but also a solution that integrates many benefits such as improving community health, increasing revenue from tourists, promoting medical investment, promoting local image...

It is estimated that global revenue from this industry is currently over 100 billion USD/year and is growing steadily at about 15 - 20% per year. In Vietnam, experts estimate that Ho Chi Minh City accounts for about 40% of Vietnam's medical tourism revenue. Meanwhile, in the Central region, this type of tourism has only just begun to take shape in incomplete forms.

In Quang Nam alone, access to the new form of medical tourism is simple, mainly resort combined with physical therapy at some coastal accommodation areas. There are also a few international tourists coming to Hoi An to use medical services and highly appreciate the quality and cost, but mainly on an ad hoc basis, not in the plan.

According to Mr. Ngo Duc Hai - General Director of Thien Nhan Hospital Da Nang, the core conditions to promote the "medical tourism industry" are to have special medical products, special tourism products and modern transportation. When these factors are combined, it will create a competitive advantage compared to other medical tourism destinations.

What opportunities for Quang Nam - Da Nang?

According to experts, in general, Quang Nam - Da Nang has many advantages to approach medical tourism. Some of the outstanding strengths include being the "gateway" to the Central region and Southeast Asia; having built the leading resort tourism brand in Vietnam; good climate quality - living environment; abundant medicinal resources; increasingly improving medical quality...

Quang Nam has many natural resources suitable for developing medical tourism but has not been exploited effectively. In the photo: Experience hot mineral baths at Phu Ninh Lake. Photo: QUOC TUAN

Mr. Le Tan Thanh Tung - Deputy General Director of VITRACO tourism - event - transportation company commented that first of all, Da Nang (including Quang Nam) needs to identify potential tourist markets in the field of medical tourism.

Each market will have its own needs to determine the appropriate type. For example, European - American - Australian tourists who need long-term vacations, rehabilitation treatment or post-treatment health care, the appropriate type is wellness tourism (a travel experience to relax and improve physical and mental health).

Japanese tourists have a high proportion of elderly people, so they have a need for retirement and health care. The type of tourism suitable for Japanese tourists is retirement tourism combined with therapeutic resort...

Suggesting more from tourism businesses, Quang Nam - Da Nang has enough materials to build unique tourism "packages" for each market such as: "Retirement tourism - long-term vacation" for international visitors with activities of staying at high-class, quiet resorts; periodic health care; meditation - yoga - music therapy; cultural experiences... Or health tourism packages for the elderly in Vietnam with resort activities in areas with good climates (Nui Thanh - Hoi An - Son Tra peninsula...), mineral baths - oriental medicine, meditation - health care - visiting craft villages...

However, the common weakness is that there is currently no tour linking destinations to serve medical tourism. In addition, some resources serving medical tourism are still in raw form, unexploited, especially in Quang Nam.

In the immediate future, if they really want to launch this field, the two localities need to soon build an integrated medical tourism "ecosystem", build a medical tourism destination brand as well as establish specific linkage models between the parties.

In May 2024, the People's Committee of Quang Nam province issued a Plan to implement the project on Developing traditional medicine and pharmaceutical services and products for tourists by 2030 in the province. The plan aims to promote the value of traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals in providing services and products for international and domestic tourists; making traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals a key tourism product line with high quality, bringing economic efficiency to tourism and healthcare.

Meanwhile, in March 2025, the People's Committee of Da Nang City issued a Plan for developing medical tourism in the city for the period 2025 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, with the view that developing medical tourism is one of the solutions to improve service quality; building an advanced and modern health system, developing a number of high-level fields with the goal of making Da Nang's health sector a health care center in Southeast Asia.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/mo-loi-cho-du-lich-y-te-xu-quang-3153202.html