Medical tourism development: A systematic review of economic aspects

Abstract

The tourism industry is one of the largest and most productive economic activities in the world that directly and indirectly affects other economic and cultural activities. The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths points and challenges of medical tourism development in Iran. A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses PRISMA guidelines. Overview of the study shows that Iran has good scope for the medical tourism industry but, in general, is faced with main challenges , including lack of technology and technical infrastructures, existence of different organs of political and decision-making and also its cultural and political conditions. Therefore if Iran intends to use the strategy of developing medical tourism, as one of the strengths of the resilient economy, it should weigh strengths and challenges.