374,000 Iraqis visiting Iran for medical treatment every year

'There is no accurate statistics about the overall number of health tourists visiting Iran,' Mohsen Asadi Lari said at a conference in Tehran on health tourism. However, he noted that nearly half of the foreign patients seeking treatment in Iran are from Iraq.

Referring to requests from Afghanistan for receiving medical treatment in Iran, the official said that despite the eagerness of the Afghan side, the red tape and inadequate daily flights from Kabul to Tehran and Mashad hinder Afghan patients from coming to Iran, 90% of whom prefer to receive medical treatment in India.

Iranian visa costs Afghan nationals $ 80 whereas the Indian visa is free of charge for them, Asadi Lari said.

He also said that with regard to Azerbaijan Republic, despite ethnic and historical affinities with Iran, a wide range of problems, particularly those caused by Azeri middle managers, has made 90% of the country's health tourists to prefer Turkey over Iran.

Iran's rivals, Turkey in particular, have played very actively over the past few years to attract foreign patients making accurate planning in this regard, the official said, adding 'if we fail to actively enter this area with calculated planning, we cannot be successful.'

There are requests for receiving medical treatment in Iran from different countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus as well as Persian Gulf littoral states, Oman and Qatar in particular, and even some African countries such as Ethiopia and Algeria, he said.

Noting that there are many patients in Lebanon much eager to receive medical treatment in Iran, Asadi Lari said that with the gradual removal of security problems in Syria, requests from Syrian people for treatment in Iran are increasing.

He noted that rendering high quality hoteling services is part of the chain of health tourism services which should be paid special significance for attracting further health tourists.

Translated by: Ahmad Mohammadi

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