Vietnam has long been known as one of Asia’s fastest growing economies and the country is now setting its sights on another ambitious goal: becoming an attractive medical tourism destination in Southeast Asia.
For many years, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have dominated the region’s medical tourism market, attracting international patients through a combination of advanced hospitals, specialist expertise and competitive pricing. Vietnam, however, is beginning to follow a similar path, supported by healthcare investment, hospital expansion projects and growing international partnerships.
Industry forecasts suggest Vietnam’s medical tourism market could approach US$4 billion by 2033, making it one of the fastest growing healthcare travel sectors in the region. While the country still trails behind more established destinations in terms of international patient volume and brand recognition, momentum is clearly building.
Vietnam’s Healthcare Transformation
Vietnam’s healthcare sector is undergoing rapid modernization. Government backed initiatives are focused on upgrading hospitals, improving specialist care and reducing outbound medical travel among Vietnamese citizens seeking treatment abroad.
According to recent reports, Vietnam plans to elevate several hospitals to international standards as part of a wider healthcare development strategy running through 2030. Investments are targeting high demand specialties such as oncology, cardiology, orthopaedics and rehabilitation medicine, areas that traditionally drive medical tourism growth.
At the same time, private healthcare groups are expanding aggressively across the country. Hospitals are investing in modern infrastructure, AI enabled diagnostics and international patient services.
New Healthcare Investments and Hospital Expansion
One of the clearest indicators of Vietnam’s healthcare ambitions is the growing number of hospital expansion projects and private healthcare investments emerging across the country.
In Hanoi, healthcare authorities are prioritizing expansion across several specialist sectors, including oncology, cardiology, paediatrics and rehabilitation medicine. New investments are also being directed toward AI enabled diagnostics and advanced healthcare technology infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Hanh Phuc International Hospital is undergoing a major transformation into a larger multispecialty healthcare provider, expanding services and modernising operations as part of a broader healthcare development strategy.
Across Vietnam, both public and private providers are investing in upgraded facilities, specialist treatment centers and improved patient experience infrastructure. These developments are helping position the country as a more competitive healthcare destination within Southeast Asia.
For medical tourism observers, this stage of infrastructure expansion is significant. Similar investment cycles played an important role in the early development of Thailand and Malaysia as international healthcare hubs.
Private Hospital Groups Are Expanding International Partnerships
Vietnam’s private healthcare sector is also strengthening ties with international healthcare organisations, creating partnerships designed to accelerate clinical standards, operational performance, quality of care and specialist expertise.
Vinmec Healthcare System has collaborated with Cleveland Clinic to strengthen oncology expertise, physician training and clinical protocols. These types of partnerships allow local providers to access international standards while accelerating capability building within Vietnam’s healthcare system.
Meanwhile, FV Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City became part of Thomson Medical Group, creating stronger healthcare connectivity between Vietnam and Singapore while bringing additional investment and operational expertise into the market.
This model is not new. Leading global healthcare organisations such as Mayo Clinic have long expanded their international influence through clinical affiliations, advisory partnerships and knowledge transfer rather than simply building hospitals abroad. Vietnam’s healthcare sector now seems to be moving in a similar direction.
These collaborations are important because they help establish the foundations that medical tourists increasingly look for, including international standards, specialist expertise, patient safety and operational quality.
Which Medical Tourism Sectors Could Vietnam Target?
Vietnam is unlikely to compete directly with Singapore in highly complex tertiary care or challenge Thailand’s overall medical tourism volume in the short term. However, the country is beginning to position itself strongly in several fast growing medical tourism sectors.
These include:
Dental tourism
Cosmetic surgery
Fertility treatment and IVF
Orthopedics
Health screening & full body check ups
Preventive healthcare
Vietnam’s competitive pricing structure could become one of its strongest advantages, particularly for patients travelling from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and neighbouring ASEAN markets.
The country also benefits from strong tourism infrastructure, international connectivity and an increasingly modern urban healthcare environment, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Intense Competition
Despite the optimism, Vietnam still faces important challenges before it can emerge as a major regional medical tourism hub.
International accreditation remains limited compared to Thailand and Singapore. Brand recognition among global patients is still developing, and many hospitals continue to focus primarily on domestic demand.
Language accessibility, concierge services and international marketing capabilities will also need to improve if Vietnam hopes to attract larger numbers of overseas patients.
At the same time, competition across Asia is intensifying. Thailand continues to dominate the wellness and cosmetic surgery market, while Malaysia has strengthened its position in value driven healthcare and Singapore remains the region’s benchmark for world-class complex care.
Vietnam will need to differentiate itself carefully rather than simply replicate existing models.
One to Watch
Vietnam appears to be following many of the same early growth patterns previously seen in Thailand and Malaysia: healthcare infrastructure investment, private hospital expansion, international partnerships and government support for healthcare modernisation.
Whether Vietnam ultimately becomes Southeast Asia’s next medical tourism success story remains to be seen. However, the foundations are beginning to take shape, and the country is increasingly positioning itself as one of the region’s most closely watched emerging healthcare markets.
