The head of the tourism office at Iran’s Ministry of Health said on Friday that more than one million medical tourists visit the country every year..
“Most of them are from neighboring countries including Iraq and Afghanistan,” Mohammad Reza Tarjoman said at a press conference adding there are 200 medical centers that have permission to accept foreign patients.
Iran is ranked 46 worldwide in the area of health tourism.
The coronavirus has caused a 73 percent decline in the country’s health tourism in two years, Tarjoman added.
The pandemic has killed over 6,200,000 worldwide since its outbreak in December 2019.
Tarjoman said Iran has huge potential in health tourism adding the country will hold conferences and attend international events to help attract more medical tourists.
According to Iranian officials, the first international conference on health tourism is slated for June 14-17 in the northern Iranian province of Golestan.