engleski

Wellness tourism in Croatia - current state and development potentials

Increased interest in health care is one of the main opportunities for the development of wellness tourism. The growing concern of people about their own health leads to an increase in demand for wellness services. The number of tourists motivated by improvement of physical and mental health is in constant growth. Wellness is one of the trends that has been increasingly present in recent years in all developed countries in Europe, the United States and the Far East. The aim of the paper is to explain wellness tourism phenomenon and to analyse the current state and the possibilities of wellness tourism development in Croatia. A large number of thermal springs, numerous healing factors and a long tradition of spas are the basis for the quality development of the wellness offer in Croatia. Wellness in Croatia is developing both in coastal and continental part. In the coastal part, these are mostly wellness centres within the hotel, while in the continental part, the basis for the development of wellness are spas. Continental part, with its preserved environment, should be the basis for the development of wellness tourism in Croatia. For quality development, it is necessary to properly use terms related to health tourism. Improper use of terminology, along with the lack of wellness standards, has led to the development of incomplete, and in some cases, poor quality wellness offer. To develop quality wellness offer, Croatia has to have strategy, but also standards which would assure usage of term “wellness” only for shareholders who provide quality service. Although there is no strategy for wellness tourism development in Croatia, some of the leading wellness companies have plans and strategies to follow in order to achieve the set goals, thus positioning Croatia in the wellness market in small steps. Croatia therefore needs new investments in existing wellness offer in order to rise on the list of top wellness destinations in Europe. Spa, wellness and finally health tourism mean exactly what we strive for - year-round business and profit.

health tourism ; wellness tourism ; Croatia

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