ACIF 2025 | Thailand’s Aged Care Industry: Building a Health and Wellness Hub for the World

「Thailand is building its own Southeast Asian model of senior living—one rooted in family, culture, wellness, and quality of life.」—Dr. Nart Fongsmut, LivWell Living

Based on the interview with Dr. Nart Fongsmut, Director of Health and Wellness, Live Well Living, at ACIF 2025, Cares Expo Taipei.

At the Asia Care Industry Forum (ACIF) 2025, held during Cares Expo Taipei, Dr Nart Fongsmut, Director of Health and Wellness at LivWell Living, offered an in-depth overview of Thailand’s rapidly evolving aged care landscape. A medical doctor and one of the key contributors to Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health in drafting the country’s first senior living regulations, Dr Fongsmut has been instrumental in shaping a system that bridges healthcare, hospitality, and wellness.

“We’re still at the entry point of regulation,” she said. “Thailand started formal senior living standards only four to five years ago, but the direction is clear—quality, safety, and design standards will guide the next phase of industry growth.”

Regulation and Policy: A Framework in Progress

Thailand’s aged care regulatory framework, launched around 2019, was designed to bring order and oversight to a market that had long operated informally. “We have three categories of senior living—independent living, day care centers, and nursing homes,” explained Dr. Fongsmut. “The regulations cover safety, staffing, and universal design. It’s not strict yet, but it’s a good start.”

Unlike heavily regulated systems such as Taiwan or Japan, Thailand’s approach remains light-touch, allowing operators flexibility during the sector’s formative years. “We’re starting at what I call a three-star level,” she said. “Once everyone is on board and standards are established, we can move toward four- and five-star operations.”

Government support, however, remains limited. Subsidies are mainly directed toward low-income seniors in rural areas—particularly for home modifications such as improving bathroom accessibility. “The government wants to keep the elderly with their families,” said Dr. Fongsmut. “So subsidies go to rural households, helping them remodel homes for safer living. It’s not much—maybe enough to fix a bathroom—but it’s meaningful.”

Beyond that, Thailand’s social support system focuses on basic pensions and encouraging younger generations to save through provident and pension funds. “Right now, older adults get around 600 baht a month,” she noted. “It’s very little, but in the countryside, it still helps.”

Market Overview: A Dual Market for Locals and Expats

Thailand’s aged care industry serves two distinct but growing markets: the domestic Thai population and foreign retirees.

“For local Thais, only about 10–20% will ever live in a senior facility,” Dr. Fongsmut said. “Most prefer to stay at home with family—that’s the cultural norm and also the government policy.”

However, the foreign retiree market is expanding rapidly, with rising interest from Europe, Japan, and other parts of Asia. “We have big communities of expats in Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya,” she said. “They are wealthier, and when they move here, they bring economic growth. Property developers, hospitals, and wellness operators all benefit.”

The Thai government has made it easier for foreigners to retire in the country by allowing property ownership under certain investment conditions. “Foreign ownership of villas is now possible,” Dr. Fongsmut explained. “It’s one of the incentives that makes Thailand attractive. You can have your own land, affordable healthcare, and kind people with good service. You can live healthily and happily here.”

From Tourism to Health and Wellness Hub

For decades, Thailand has been a global tourism powerhouse. Now, it is repositioning itself as a health and wellness hub—a vision that combines the country’s medical excellence with its hospitality strengths.

“The mission is to promote Thailand as the health and wellness hub of the world,” said Dr. Fongsmut. “And further to that, as a retirement destination.”

This strategy merges Thailand’s strong tourism brand with medical and wellness offerings. “We’re shifting from traditional tourism to special tours with treatment and wellness,” she said. “It’s health tourism, not just sightseeing.”

Wellness is now seen as a bridge between healthcare and lifestyle. “We want to expand from medical treatments to prevention—Thai massage, herbal medicine, nutrition, mental well-being, and physical checkups,” she explained. “It’s about healthy aging, not just healthcare.”

Business Models and New Developments

Live Well Living, Dr. Fongsmut’s organization, embodies Thailand’s next generation of integrated care and wellness design. Its portfolio spans luxury retirement residences, rehabilitation centers, and community-based day-care hubs.

“We’re not building nursing homes,” she emphasized. “If you want to make money fast, do a nursing home. But I’m a doctor—We’re focusing on health, on wellness. That’s the long-term goal.”

Live Well’s joint venture structure reflects the intersection of medicine, property, and finance. “We have three shareholders: a medical group, a property developer called Nye Estate, and a life insurance company,” she said. “The developer builds the facilities, we provide the wellness programs, and the insurer brings financial sustainability and long-term investment.”

Life insurance firms have become increasingly active in Thailand’s senior living market, recognizing its demographic potential. “They studied the data and saw what’s coming,” said Dr. Fongsmut. “They collect money from policyholders and must invest it somewhere—senior living is now one of the areas the government allows them to invest in.”

Current Trends: Wellness, Rehabilitation, and Technology

While nursing homes remain the dominant business today—especially in Bangkok, where franchised chains are expanding—wellness and rehabilitation are emerging as the long-term growth engines.

“The business for today is nursing homes,” she admitted. “Families can’t take care of their dependent elders at home. But for the future, we focus on wellness and rehabilitation—keeping people independent as long as possible, helping them recover quickly after hospitalization, and return home.”

Rehabilitation centers and physiotherapy clinics are proliferating nationwide, often connected to hospitals or wellness communities. “A good rehab service enhances the business,” said Dr. Fongsmut. “It’s now essential.”

Technology is another key enabler. “Our priority is safety, but also wellness,” she said. “We use in-room monitoring and wearable devices to track vital signs, sleep quality, and activity levels. It’s about prevention.”

Live Well also integrates softer elements of wellness, such as pet therapy and palliative care. “Pet therapy is big in Thailand,” she said with a smile. “We have trained therapy dogs visiting our centers to work with the elderly. It brings joy.” On end-of-life support, she added, “We help residents prepare advanced directives so they can have a peaceful, dignified final phase. Good living includes good dying.”

Community Integration and Future Plans

Live Well’s future projects are not confined to retirement campuses. The company is now developing smaller, more accessible models integrated into local communities.

“Our new project targets middle-range customers,” she explained. “It’s very similar to a community day care center—it could even be inside a shopping mall.”

This reflects Thailand’s ongoing effort to localize elder care, blending private innovation with public goals. “The government is still promoting elder activity centers in rural places,” Dr. Fongsmut said. “So we see a gap and opportunity to create similar centers in urban communities. People in the cities need these spaces, too.”

Beyond operations, Live Well also acts as a consultant to developers building senior or wellness residences. “We’re currently advising a project in Phuket—160 villas with a wellness center,” she said. “We design the care model, staff structure, and service standards.”

International collaboration is another avenue. “If Taiwanese or Japanese companies want to cooperate, we’re open,” she said. “We can host short-stay programs or wellness tours for seniors. It can be cross-border care.”

Outlook: A Market Ready for Investment

Thailand’s aged care industry remains in its early stages but is advancing quickly, supported by demographics, tourism synergies, and investment interest. “Now is a very good timing for foreign investors,” Dr. Fongsmut said confidently.

With flexible regulation, low entry barriers, and strong government ambition to make Thailand a global wellness hub, the sector offers fertile ground for innovation. As Dr. Fongsmut concluded, “We don’t want to copy Western models. We’re building our own Southeast Asian approach—one rooted in family, culture, and quality of life.”

Coming Up Next

In the coming weeks, we will continue to publish insights from ACIF 2025 speakers and international buyers visiting Cares Expo Taipei 2025, sharing their analyses and perspectives on how different countries are responding to the evolving trends in the aging society and care industry.

Through their experiences, we aim to offer readers a broader perspective on how global collaboration and innovation are shaping the next decade of the healthcare industry.

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