Development perspectives of health tourism in the Republic of Croatia

The Republic of Croatia has enormous potentials in developing health tourism and the attraction of so-called medical tourists, given the fact that it is capable of offering a soothing climate, quality accommodation capacities, quality and innovative medical infrastructure, competent medical personnel and extremely competitive prices of treatments. In more recent times, the entry of Croatia into the European Union has also been proven as a significant factor. Unfortunately, these potentials haven’t fully been exploited due to various legal obstacles and irregularities, as well as the non-existence of a unique health tourism development strategy at state level. It is estimated that the size of the health tourism market boasts 38-55 billions of US dollars. That warrants a major challenge but also a major opportunity for numerous private and public health institutions in Croatia operating in the areas of aesthetic, orthopedic, spinal and neurosurgery, physical therapy and rehabilitation, and dentistry.