Scroll down for more The Croatian Chamber of Economy emphasized health tourism as a strategic Croatian product at the ITB trade fair in Berlin at the beginning of March 2025. Eleven member companies of the Croatian Health Tourism Association took part in the trade fair, during which they participated in B2B meetings, promoted the best Croatian health tourism offer, and fortified the country’s image as the destination to travel for health reasons. Promotional activities are of great importance during the time this period of modernizing and building new capacities at specialized hospitals and spas throughout Croatia, with total investments exceeding 170 million euros to raise the standard of these facilities and expand their capacities and services.
The Role of Health Tourism in Year-Round Development
As Lana Petrović Blajić from the Tourism Sector of the Croatian Chamber of Economy emphasized, this tourism segment is essential for reaching the aim of year-round tourism that is regionally development across Croatia and enables specialized healthcare facilities to position themselves on the global market. Through joint participation in international trade fairs such as ITB, Croatia is striving to improve its visibility as a health destination by promoting business cooperation and increasing the commercial share of health tourism.
Promoting "Health Tourism Croatia" on the Global Stage
The trade fair promotion was organized in cooperation with the Croatian National Tourist Board and the Ministry of Health. Croatian healthcare facilities promoted their services under the brand name “Health Tourism Croatia”. Given the increased awareness of natural healing factors and well-being, the medical facilities called for more systematic monitoring of the impact of these treatments as they can help with the future development of health tourism and further improve the image of Croatia as a health tourism destination.
Expanding International Presence: Next Stop, Vienna
Following the Berlin fair, CCE Health Tourism members plan to participate in the Health Days in Vienna, where they will further promote Croatian tourism through B2B meetings, lectures, and study visits.
Investing in Education for a Stronger Health Tourism Sector
Given the increased interest in health tourism, the CCE, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian National Tourist Board, will organise special educational courses for health facilities in the fiend of marketing, sales and communication skills and thus contribute to the further development of the sector.
