Iran welcomed 1.2 million medical tourists last year

Iran received more than a million medical tourists in 2024, reflecting the nation’s tourism push to compete on a global scale and diversify its sources of revenue. 

The country welcomed 1.2 million tourists who received medical treatments across Iranian hospitals last year, Mehr News Agency reported, citing an Iranian official. Medical tourists made up 16.2% of the 7.4 million visitors last year. 

A 2020 study found that medical treatments in Iran cost up to 65% less than in the United States and 40% less than in Western Europe, making the country a leading destination for affordable, high-quality healthcare.

"Health, medical or therapeutic tourism is one of the key competitive advantages that the country's tourism has over others," said Muslim Shojaei, director general of the Foreign Tourism Marketing and Development Office at the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism. 

“Along with pilgrimage and historical-cultural tourism, this area is one of our three main products in which we can compete with many countries in the world”.

Treatments such as hair transplants, cosmetic surgeries, transplants, and infertility treatments topped the list of medical services given to foreign tourists.

The global medical tourism market is worth around $47 billion, with each health tourist spending an average of $2,500 to $3,000. 

"Iran's share [of the global market] is not bad despite the current conditions, although the situation was better before Covid-19 pandemic and in 2019," added Shojaei. 

The Iranian government has prioritized medical tourism as part of its broader economic diversification strategy, Mohammadreza Sheikhy-Chaman, assistant professor of health economics at the Tehran Medical Sciences Branch of Islamic Azad University told Salaam Gateway last December. 

"Investments have been made in expanding and modernizing healthcare facilities to meet international standards.”