TEHRAN – A southern Iranian university has opened an office in Oman seeking to draw more medical tourists from the Sultanate.

“Shiraz University of Medical Sciences has established an office in Oman to increase the attraction of medical tourists,” one of the university officials said on Saturday.

Mehrdad Sharifi made the remarks at a conference dedicated to medical tourism, adding that medical tourism is an essential need in the field of health and treatment.

“Reaching that goal requires communication and training, standardization and monitoring of the good implementation of processes.”

The average number of medical tourists visiting Iran is one million people per annum, an official with the Health Ministry said earlier this year. “We consider this sector as health diplomacy, which is a suitable platform to develop the country’s international interactions,” said Mohammad-Hossein Niknam, who presides over the ministry’s department for international cooperation.

The official added his department follows three main policies to increase the country’s share in the world’s $100 billion market. “Our policies in the medical sector concern internationalization of our capacities, playing an effective role in drawing patients, particularly from the neighboring countries, and the development of scientific and economic cooperation to increase the country’s share in the international health market.”

Iran was ranked 46th destination for medical tourism [within the 2020-2021 Medical Tourism Index]. According to available data, patients from the neighboring countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman, Bahrain, Armenia, and Tajikistan, constitute the lion’s share of medical tourists arriving in the Islamic Republic.

Experts say Iran’s medical tourism is a win-win opportunity both for the country and foreign patients, as they are offered affordable yet quality treatment services and the country gains considerable foreign currency.

Iran is branded globally as an affordable destination for health and medical tourism. Credible surgeons and physicians, cutting-edge medical technologies, high-tech medicine and diverse specializations, affordable procedures, and finally, its hospitable people, are considered Iran’s trump card when it comes to medical tourism.

AFM