Iran is becoming a prime destination for Muslim medical tourists

تاریخ:	2014/08/12	تعداد بازدید :	43
Iran is becoming a prime destination for Muslim medical tourists
Despite near demonisation in parts of the western media, Iran is a peaceful country that is successfully attracting local medical tourists. Thanks to its geographical position, the conditions in neighbouring countries, reasonable prices and advanced medical facilities, Iran is becoming a destination for Islamic and regional medical tourists. An increasing number of hospitals in Iranian cities offer medical and health care services for foreign medical tourists. Iran offers very advanced healthcare
Despite near demonisation in parts of the western media, Iran is a peaceful country that is successfully attracting local medical tourists. Thanks to its geographical position, the conditions in neighbouring countries, reasonable prices and advanced medical facilities, Iran is becoming a destination for Islamic and regional medical tourists. An increasing number of hospitals in Iranian cities offer medical and health care services for foreign medical tourists. Iran offers very advanced healthcare. Geographical closeness and cultural and religious similarities have turned Iran into one of the favourite destinations for the Islamic world, as well as Muslim and other denominations from nearby countries. Iran has a highly educated workforce and is a local leader in scientific and health development. It is one of the top five countries in the world in biotech and nine out of 15 high usage biotech molecules are produced in Iran. There are two strands to the demand, medical tourism and health/wellness tourism. The existence of mineral fountains in many parts of the country, targets the latter market. Other markets include fertility treatment, stem cell treatment, dialysis, heart surgery, cosmetic surgery, and eye surgery. Latest figures suggest that 30,000 medical tourists enter Iran annually; plus 200,000 health, wellness and spa tourists. It has a Health Tourism Committee that has produced rules and regulations for tourist healthcare service canters so that hospitals and clinics that want to offer health tourism services to foreign citizens need to acquire licenses from both the Ministry of Health and the Iranian Tourism Organisation. It also offers health service training to employees of tourism agencies and encourages hospitals to open international patients' wards. Iranian hospitals that hold a medical tourism license from the Ministry of Health arrange airport transfers as well as accommodation. In addition, a nurse can be assigned to each patient. The key target market is the Persian Gulf region, taking people who used to go to Europe or troubled local rivals such as Jordan. An increasing number of patients come from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan and even India. Some come as the prices are lower than at home, some come for specialist care, and many come simply because they feel more culturally comfortable in Iran than in Europe or Asia. Iran offers services in ophthalmology, cardiology, kidney & liver transplants, dentistry, urology and general surgery. Based on studies conducted by Iran tourism organisation ICHHTO-Iraq, Afghanistan, Persian Gulf states, Central Asian nations and Iranians residing abroad are the main targets. ICHHTO provides travel agencies active in health tourism with special facilities such as a pavilion for them in overseas fairs. ICHHTO has also specified certain provinces for health tourism with the co-operation of the Ministry of Health: • Tehran province for treating tuberculosis and lung disorders. • Khorasan Razavi for ophthalmology, skin care, heart surgery and orthopedics. • Fars for liver, kidney and marrow transplants. • Yazd for treating infertility. • Qom for its sun and desert potential. • Hamedan, Ilam and Zanjan as centres of herbal medicine.