Health tourism in Croatian islands is developing spontaneously rather than systematically, and its development should be encouraged as it is a great opportunity for local entrepreneurs and revenues, consultant Leila Kresic-Juric said at a conference on health tourism held on the southern Croatian Adriatic island of Korcula.

The conference, the first such event in Croatia, is held on May 17-18 in the town of Vela Luka. It was organised by Croatian MEP Ruza Tomasic in cooperation with Vela Luka Municipality and with the support of the European Parliament.

Kresic-Juric said that the participation of specialised tourist agencies from abroad such as Germany’s FitReisen and the Dutch Fortuna, as well as representatives of the global health insurance company Signa, was important and a guarantee that the conference would result in concrete business arrangements.

“They all, through their businesses, promote the sustainable development of tourism and islands, which are true oases of natural and cultural beauty, but also offer things we need to promote more – the benefits of their climate, air, their flora and fauna, as well as indigenous products, which are all excellent prerequisites for preventive health care,” said Kresic-Juric.

The conference will also present new EU funded financing opportunities for projects, including those in health tourism. Policy advisor Mislava Brko said a new EU directive would increase financial support to structural reforms in EU member states.

“The goal is to motivate Croatian spas and health treatment centres to register their investment projects by October 2018, so that their financing could be included in structural reform projects. I sincerely hope they will take this step to ensure their status, it’s an opportunity worth using, and projects need to be registered by September or October, because that’s when the EU Parliament is expected to pass a directive increasing funding for the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP),” Brko said.

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