Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education has said that one million medical tourists, mainly from neighbouring countries, arrive in the country each year. These figures are from the medical tourism department at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, which also adds “Mashhad seeks to earn some US$400 million from medical tourism each year. Our estimate is 200,000 medical tourists per year would mean revenue of US$400 million.”Iran sees significant potential in becoming a regional hub for medical tourism. It argues that while Turkey’s revenues from medical tourism surpass Iran’s despite fewer hospitals it does not have pilgrimage capacities. It will be necessary to recognise the strategic medical tourism status of each province, supply a specialised workforce, provide high-quality services, improve infrastructure, and encourage authorities to support medical tourism.

Source: The Times April 27, 2022 11:16 UTC