The European Spas Association (ESPA) will hold its annual congress in the thermal spa of Tuhelj on May 8-10, to be attended by representatives from 21 European countries.

The event will present trends, innovations and best practices in spa and wellness tourism, a sector in which Croatia has been strengthening its international position.

The event is organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian National Tourist Board.

“In recent years, tourism officials have been increasingly working on development and promotion of health tourism, and this year investments worth around EUR 7.5 million are expected in that sector. The sector’s annual revenue is estimated at EUR 500 million, which is little considering the country’s potential and the relatively high daily consumption, which amounts to EUR 60 in spa tourism and EUR 240 in medical tourism,” said HGK Tourism Sector head Ana Klaric.

She said that tourists visiting Croatia for spa and medical tourism stay an average of 13 days in the country and that most of them come from Germany, Slovenia, Austria and Italy. They mostly come for dental services and plastic surgery, Klaric said, noting that those services are of very high quality and are very competitive at EU level, as are personnel and equipment.