An Iranian business official has warned that Iran’s share of Iraq’s medical tourism market has declined in recent years as India and Turkey expand their presence, calling for direct marketing and a joint digital platform to restore confidence among Iraqi patients.
Mostafa Mousavi, head of the Tourism Commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce, said on Monday that although healthcare services in Turkey and India are not cheaper than in Iran, both countries have built stronger trust with Iraqi clients by offering direct services from within Iraq.
“In recent years, Iran’s medical tourism market in Iraq has been shrinking while Turkey and India are gaining ground,” Mousavi said. “If Iran promotes its medical services directly inside Iraq through official private-sector representatives, trust will increase and the benefits will go to genuine operators rather than middlemen.”
He proposed launching a dedicated Iran–Iraq digital platform for medical tourism, based in Iraq, to connect patients directly with accredited Iranian providers. Mousavi added that government measures to simplify visa issuance and improve digital infrastructure would play a key role in helping Iran recover its position in Iraq’s growing medical tourism sector.