Kish Summer Festival is a staple event held on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, which draws droves of foreign and domestic tourists every year.
The 18th edition of this festival features musical numbers, comedy gigs, puppet shows and other performances. Opening in July, the festival includes a new, health-themed event that has proven to be a success.
The event is the result of a collaborative effort between Kish Hospital and Kish Free Zone Organization’s Tourism Department, IRNA reported.
Medical professionals are on hand to prepare medical records, perform blood and urine tests and conduct a full-body checkup. In case the checkup reveals a problem, necessary tests covered by the clinic will be ordered to determine the cause of the problem and plan a treatment routine.
Mohammad Moheb Khodaei, KFZO’s tourism deputy, said the organization is committed to developing specialized tourism and added that the aim of the festival is to help bolster medical tourism.
Mohammad Khalkhali, secretary of the summer festival, echoed Khodaei’s sentiments and said the health event provides patients with various services, including cancer prevention and diagnosis, treatment of liver diseases, laparoscopy and hair transplantation.
In recent months, Iran has been upping efforts to claim a stake in the $65 billion health tourism industry. Growing at approximately 20% annually, health tourism is a very lucrative industry for developing nations.
According to Masoud Soltanifar, head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Iran’s annual revenue from health tourism is between $400 million and $500 million, which is expected to reach $2.5 billion in the foreseeable future.
In July, ICHHTO gave travel agencies two months to apply for health tourism permits.
Licensed tour agencies and operators will be supported by the Health Tourism Leadership Council, which comprises members of foreign and health ministries, ICHHTO and the Islamic Republic of Iran Medical Council.
Benefits include promotion of services and extension of loans to expand operations. Facilitation of visa issuance is another advantage.
Furthermore, 270 hospitals have so far expressed readiness to admit foreign tourists seeking medical treatment.
Iran’s affordable, high-quality medical care has made it a top destination for health tourists from the Persian Gulf littoral states, who mainly seek infertility treatments, plastic surgery, gum tissue graft surgery and dental implants.
Nevertheless, tourism officials are eying a bigger goal, which is to become a global hotspot for tourists. Given the authorities’ commitment to developing the industry, Iran may very well be on track to realize its ambitious goal.
