Mohammad Esmail Khayami, the head of Medical Tourism Department at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, said on Saturday that some 12 hospitals have been granted the permits to offer medical services to international patients.
The official noted that four surgical clinics have also applied for the permits and are awaiting the approval of the Health Ministry’s Health Tourism Council.
According to Khayami, the number of international patients visiting Mashhad’s clinical centers during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 21- Sep. 22) has increased by 15% in comparison with the corresponding period of last year.
Currently, many health tourists travel to Iran from Central Asian and Arab countries.
According to Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, the country’s annual revenue from health tourism is between $400 million and $500 million, while the target is to reach $2.5 billion by 2025.
Around 400 Iranian hospitals are active in the field of health tourism, and the country has projected to attract between 500,000 and 600,000 medical tourists
Geographical proximity, hot and cold mineral springs in various parts of the country as well as low-cost and high-quality health services in the fields of fertility treatment, stem cell treatment and dialysis, as well as heart, cosmetic
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