HEALTH TOURISM INDUSTRY THE ROLE THAT A UNIVERSITY CAN PLAY

By : Dr. Mohammadzadeh
President
Northwest International University

First of all, I would like to extend my special thanks and appreciation to Safarnevisan Magazine for its prominent role in the field of tourism industry development in I.R.Iran .
The fact is that a combination of several factors has led to an upward trend in people›s inclination to medical travel, including the high cost of living in industrialized countries, the facilitation of international travel and the improvement of medical technology and standards in many countries.
The subjects of health tourism, medical tourism, wellness tourism, and related branches is currently being pursued by numbers of expert planners, university professors and top executive managers in a special department at Northwest International University and I am proud to say that some diverse and innovative programs in Iran and other countries will be done by the university in close future. Nevertheless ,it seems that if the Islamic Republic of Iran includes health tourism in its social, economic and cultural development programs, it will achieve a good amount of foreign exchange earnings, job creation and the ability to compete with countries that are recently in the forefront of this field because the country has if a great material and spiritual potential including specialized manpower , Tourist attractions and necessary infrastructure, such as medical centers and hospitals and hotels and suitable accommodation facilities for travelers who are seeking this medical services. We as the Northwest International University Welcomes As a university, we welcome joint cooperation in the field of health tourism and are ready to sign a memorandum of cooperation with various institutions and organizations. In closing , I wish more success to the top Iranian policymakers, staff and executives for their development programs in the field of inclusive development of health tourism in the country.