Health and medical tourism in Iran

SHARGHONLINE: Health tourism and medical tourism are areas of global health and tourism, especially in Asia, where favorable prices, combined with standard quality of care, are attracting more and more travelers who can afford medical treatment either non-existent or expensive in their own country.

Iran is considered today as one of the countries with great potential for health tourism and medical tourism, so much so that it is already the number one medical and health destination in the Islamic world. The rapid improvement of health indices in Iran, the development of biotechnologies and advanced medical technologies, the existence of medical centers and genetic or other research, unique in the Middle East, the quality of medical care - especially in surgery - and health, allies at a very low price have already made Iran one of the most important destinations for medical and health tourism in the region.

Iran's geographic location also plays a role in its potential, on the one hand for health tourism and on the other hand for medical tourism as such. The majority of medical tourists to Iran are citizens of countries neighboring Iran. These include the countries bordering Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iraq and Turkey, whose citizens cannot receive the same care in their own countries. But there are also the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, the countries of Central Asia and some Latin American countries whose citizens come to Iran within the framework of medical tourism, in particular in view of the quality-price ratio of the services of health in Iran.

In the area of health tourism, Iran has remarkable potential. The existence of diverse ecosystems, in particular mountains, where thermal springs abound, deserts, promising calm and meditation, lakes with therapeutic waters, etc. are important assets in this area. To date, more than a thousand thermal springs with healing properties have been recorded in the country, less than half of which have been locally exploited for health tourism.

When it comes to medical tourism itself, Iran also has undeniable advantages, given the importance. An extended health system throughout the country, rapidly expanding medical infrastructures, qualified medical personnel, a developed and expanding pharmaceutical industry, medical centers of cutting edge, particularly in genetic and biotechnological studies (Iran is 5th in the world in biotechnology, and nine of the fifteen existing biotechnical molecules are currently produced in the country), regularly updated medical treatments, the possibility of to undergo long-term care such as dialysis, international quality surgery and the low prices of all medical services compared to other countries with comparable health systems, thus attracting tens of thousands of tourists every year.

The importance of this tourism sector has recently aroused the interest of officials, and programs have been drawn up to concretely make Iran at least a regional hub in health tourism. Thus, the 4th National Development Plan provides for 30% of the necessary investments in health to be obtained through the export of medical, pharmaceutical and technological products, medical tourism and health tourism.

The efforts to be made relate to both types of health tourism, health tourism as much therapeutic as leisure on the one hand and medical tourism proper on the other hand.

In the field of health and leisure tourism, the exploitation of the many thermal and mineral springs of the country is taken into account by the Iranian Tourism Organization, which is currently carrying out a study of the Iranian potential in thalassotherapy and spa treatments, in particular with the preparation of a complete guide on more than a thousand sources already identified and their possibilities of exploitation. Participation in international medical and tourism fairs since 2010 is also part of this organization's efforts to promote the Iranian sector internationally.