HCM City is pinning high hope on waterway tourism - a cash cow for the southern hub. (Photo: VNA) A report by Grand View Research showed that the global wellness tourism marketsize is expected to top 1 trillion USD by 2030, and rise nearly 10% in the nexteight years.
According to the VietnamNational Administration of Tourism, the country has over the recent years welcomed anincreasing number of foreigners who come to experience healthcare and wellnessservices.
Some 300,000 foreigners visit the nation annually, with 40% of them seekingtreatment in HCM City.
Annual revenue fromhealthcare and wellness tourism was around 2 billion USD before 2019 – the yearwhen the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
Tourists’ intense interest in resort and healthcare services post-pandemic has created an excellent opportunity for the city to branch out this kind ofoffering.
The municipal Department of Tourism has worked with 50 entities, includinghospitals, healthcare facilities, spa palors, travel companies, and lodging facilitiesto create 30 unique packages that combine health care with visits torenowned tourist destinations to meet the needs of travelers.
Le Kien, CEO of Panhou Retreat and Whale Island Resort, said that city dwellersare facing a great deal of health problems such as nervous tension and sleeporders due to noise, air and light pollution.
Can Gio, Hoc Mon, and Cu Chi districts are able to offer visitors a relaxing andnatural excursion that is far from the city hustle and bustle, he said, adding thelocalities hold huge potential to develop resort and wellness products.
Besides, high-quality waterway services have emerged as a focus to provide newexperiences to visitors.
The cityplans to launch waterway tourism products in all inland waterways inthe city, and inter-provincial routes connecting with the neighbouringprovinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Tien Giang, Long An, and Ben Tre.
By 2025, it aims to develop at least 10 waterway tours and programmes linking seaports and river routes.
The city is striving to welcome about 500,000 visitors a year to the waterwaytourism programmes in the 2023-2024 period. This number is expected to increaseby 10% in the following years.
It will work to improve voice-over translation systems to provide tourists withinformation about waterway tourism routes, and identify the historical andcultural values of rivers and canals across the city.
The municipaladministration has urged relevant units to use the geographic information system(GIS) technology for building detailed maps of waterway tourism routes anddestinations on the routes.
Additionally,it will build more wharves to boost cruise tourism, and develop tourism andentertainment services along the river banks and on river cruise ships./.
VNA
