Development Strategy of Health Tourism in Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Iran has considerable potentials for growth of health tourism. However, they have not been properly realized towards national development. This paper has attempted to prioritize the development strategies of health tourism in Iran which has been conducted on the hospitals of Tehran. Methods: This study is a descriptive-analytical research. It was carried out in 2013 and the sample size was determined through snowball non-probability sampling. A questionnaire was administered to 29 participants and the development strategies were formulated by SWOT. Results: The findings of the research showed that the weakness points of the health tourism industry override the strength points. This is while the opportunities of development are more than threats. Conclusion: One may conclude that Iran's health tourism is in a weakness opportunity (WO) situation and needs strategies which have been specially designed for such situations. Therefore, the improvement strategies (WO) have been located in priority for the development of health tourism in Iran.