Health tourism is not tourism and health, it is tourism for health. A person travels to another country with the aim of improving their health! It is clear that medical care in another country is directly related to tourism activities. Because the patient enters a new cultural environment and has a desire to visit the city and tourist attractions, have fun and buy souvenirs.
The World Tourism Organization defines health tourism as:
The use of services that lead to the improvement or enhancement of health and the enhancement of a person’s morale (using mineral waters, climate or medical interventions) and lasts in a place outside the person’s place of residence that is more than 24 hours away.
In general, short and fast treatment time, quality of treatment, advanced treatment technology, experienced doctor, reasonable price, easy and worry-free travel and sometimes the tourist attractions of the destination country are the main motivations for medical trips of various patients.
Due to its high standards in medical research and medical services, Iranian medical tourism has become popular in the world. Also, the low cost of treatment has made Iran an important tourist destination, based on the analysis of the costs of different stages, it has been concluded that the costs of treatment in Iran are much lower than in developed countries. Iran is also very competitive in terms of price compared to its regional competitors including Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, as well as Southeast Asian countries.
Shiraz is one of the cities that has become the most important hub of health tourism in Iran, and thousands of domestic and foreign travelers travel to this city every year to pursue their treatment. Shiraz is both a historical place and an attractive modern city with many gardens, shrines, and mosques to see. Shiraz is the birthplace of Persian poets such as Saadi and Hafez and is known as the city of poetry and literature. In addition, the health and medical system in Shiraz has high facilities, so that Shiraz has become a therapeutic hub in southern Iran, and every year a large number of patients from within and outside Iran travel to this city and follow their treatment procedures.
According to the studies conducted and based on the results of the research, the most important factors that are classified as the strengths of medical tourism in Shiraz are: “distinct and diverse services”, “credible and experienced medical staff”, “quality of services”, “low-cost services”, and “accepted background in the field of medical sciences” regarding “distinct and diverse services”.
Introducing international-class medical centers, treatment facilitation companies, as well as active and specialized travel agencies in the field of health tourism are other notable and attractive parts of this exhibition.