Seoul Medical Tourism Targets Vietnam’s Market Expansion

“Seoul medical tourism is ready to conquer the Vietnamese market,” affirmed Mr. Ham Kyung Jun - Director of Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) at the "Seoul Medical Tourism Roadshow 2025," organized by Seoul City and the Seoul Tourism Organization in collaboration with Vietnamese trade and tourism promotion units in Ho Chi Minh City. The series of events aimed to promote Seoul medical tourism in Vietnam while strengthening the cooperation network between Seoul's medical-tourism facilities and the medical-tourism industry of Ho Chi Minh City in particular, and Vietnam in general, thereby establishing a foundation for sustainable bilateral cooperation in medical tourism. Statistics from the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) indicate that in 2024, the number of tourists visiting Seoul for medical services will reach nearly 1 million, an increase of 93.2% compared to 2023. In the Vietnamese market alone, around 20,000 Vietnamese tourists travel to Seoul annually for medical care, placing Vietnam among the Top 10 countries with the highest number of medical tourists to Seoul.

Mr. Ham Kyung Jun explained that more and more international tourists trust and choose Seoul as a leading destination for healthcare combined with tourism because the city offers a world-class modern medical infrastructure, diverse tourism services, and reasonable costs. In addition, the growing interest in Korea, driven by the strong influence of the Hallyu wave (K-beauty, K-drama, K-food...), also helps position Vietnam as a potential market for Seoul's medical tourism.

To meet the increasing demand for medical tourism, particularly in the Vietnamese market and globally in general, Seoul prioritizes expanding its cooperation network and building a comprehensive medical ecosystem. The city has also been making efforts to identify and select leading medical institutions in the field of medical tourism under the name of "Seoul Medical Tourism Cooperation Agency," aiming to better serve both Vietnamese and international tourists. “Seoul - Korea medical tourism has been well-prepared and professional, ready to conquer the Vietnamese market. Through this event, Seoul City and the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) hope to introduce Seoul's top-quality medical tourism resources to major medical facilities and tourism businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, while promoting the image of a 'Global Medical Tourism City' to more potential tourists,” Mr. Ham Kyung Jun emphasized.

This is the second time the Seoul Medical Tourism Roadshow has been held in Ho Chi Minh City, following its debut in 2019. This year's event brought together 13 Seoul medical cooperation units and 23 medical-tourism organizations in Ho Chi Minh City with diverse activities (health consultations, experiences of health products and services, etc.) for both B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-customer) audiences.

By My Chau, Vietnam Business Forum