Medical tourism priority in national tourism strategy

Health tourism will be treated as one of the three priorities in the new national tourism strategy, given that this segment of tourist trade contributes to the health and tourism sectors and thus to the overall economy, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Monday opening the 3rd Adriatic Health, Sport and Tourism Forum.

"Sport, health and tourism together are a good overview of the good things that Croatia can offer in addition to gastronomy, that is healthy food, which is an even greater motive to come to Croatia.(...) These are all elements and medical tourism which was one of the top ten development products in the incumbent strategy to 2020 and they will be even more highlighted in the new one," said Cappelli.

Reiterating that the new strategy is already being prepared and that it will be related to the new EU financial period of seven years until 2027, Cappelli informed that 15%- 20% of all global travels is in fact for health reasons and that those tourists spend a lot more than 'usual' tourists and stay longer at certain destinations.

Health Minister Milan Kujundzic underscored that the quality of work, know-how and expertise of Croatia's medical staff are in fact the foundation to develop health tourism and the health sector overall and that with legislative changes the government will facilitate Croatia's inclusion in that development.

President of the German Medical Wellness Association and International Medical Wellness Association Lutz Lungwitz believes that over the next few years Croatia will be the leader in health tourism which has become a strong sector in Europe and the world, adding that in order to develop it, it was important to focus on the quality of offers and marketing.

The two-day conference, which started on Monday, has brought together key stakeholders in tourism and healthcare industry within Adriatic Region. It has been organised by the Medicinska Group led by doctor Miljenko Bura. (Hina)

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