December 19, 2018 - By the end of the month, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism will announce a public tender for the selection of processors of the health tourism development strategy, which is an initial step towards the development of the fastest growing branch of tourism in the world with a rate of between 15 and 20 percent per year.
The development of this branch of tourism is part of a strategic commitment that the state becomes a year-long tourist destination.
From that Government's department, "Vijesti” was told that Montenegro, with its geographical position, an abundance of natural wealth, rich cultural heritage and diverse offer in the segment of rehabilitation, prevention, dentistry, and aesthetic surgery, has all the conditions to become a recognizable destination for health tourism.
"We will prepare the Strategy in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, the Chamber of Commerce, the Agency for Nature Protection and Environment, the NGO "Health Tourism Cluster of Montenegro", the Institute "Dr Simo Milošević", public and private health-rehabilitation institutions, the National Tourist Organization, economies, municipalities and all relevant civil society groups. The deadline for the drafting of the strategy is seven months from the date of conclusion of the contract, while the deadline for the process of revision and adoption of the final text is three months from the date of submission of the draft strategy's text. The announcement of the public tender for selecting the processor of the strategy is planned by the end of this month."
They explained that the strategy with the action plan would define further directions for the development of this type of tourism by 2025 and contribute to the improvement of the offer, which continues to grow every year and is the only tourism industry that has not recorded negative trends in the years of recession, but a growth of 11 percent.
Many factors on the supply side and demand have affected the 'explosion' of the healthcare industry, which includes health tourism. Due to the lack of free time, stress, an unhealthy lifestyle, technology, pollution, and other influences, health tourism takes on an increasingly important role in revitalizing the psycho-physical abilities of people. An important role in shaping consumer trends in the world (including health and beauty trends) has the so-called baby-boom generation that is educated and disposed of with financial resources that are mainly spent on luxury products and healthcare - wellness services. Also, intensive work is done on health promotion, which leads to the creation of a health-educated population that takes care of the health and consumption of products that protect and promote health. On the other hand, economic change encourages the development of a 'welfare society,' that is, expanding the middle class that has sufficient income and leisure time for travel.
Successful implementation, the Ministry said, includes partnership and mutual readiness of all participants in the creation of a tourism product, whether they come from the public or private sector. "By developing the offer of the health tourism, an ambience and environment is created that must be protected not only for its own sake, but also as the basis for a prospective tourism economy in the future, where tourist destination as a destination is emphasized, a spatial unit, an institution, a category that simply in the program of tourism development must integrate in and protect the environment. In this context, it is important that the tourist destination is understood as a market that offers a certain range of products, that is, in which there is the possibility of choosing what in the theory of marketing is called the product line and the breadth and depth of the assortment."
The Ministry explained that the strategy based on the analysis of the situation would define the key measures and goals for more intensive development of health tourism, activities, and indicators of success, the way of monitoring the implementation of the strategic document, the manner of reporting and evaluation, and other vital issues.
"This is a document that should represent a common inter-sectoral platform for systematic improvement of the competitiveness of the health-tourism offer of Montenegro. The report specifically points to the need to adjust the existing legislative framework and to the need for additional education providers of health-tourism services, accreditation, and certification of institutions.
They stressed the importance of developing this tourism product, which could bring extra money to the public and private sectors and become one of the ways of opposing the seasonality of tourism.
"We do not have as many areas as compared to the potential of health tourism. The specificity of health tourism, that is, what puts it in the sphere of real economic activity, is precisely its multiplicity, it launches many, many services and sectors. In addition to the positive impact on health and quality of life, this activity has numerous economic benefits and at the same time encourages the development of other economic branches and activities, and can also contribute to the development of less developed areas. The most significant impact of health tourism is the increase in employment, due to the extension of the tourist season throughout the year, as well as the numerous benefits to hoteliers due to greater and continuous occupancy during all 12 months."
To promote and exploit the potential, the Ministry said that if analyzing the current situation in Montenegro, it can be seen that the country has very good preconditions that are not sufficiently utilized (nor promoted) for the development of productive health-tourism activities. "These are natural resources, rich historical, cultural and industrial heritage, favorable geographical position, traditional hospitality of people, the existing tourist infrastructure, multiethnic character of Montenegro and multicultural tradition, as well as the growing awareness of tourist employees about the benefits that the development of the health tourism sector can bring to the overall economic development".
Text by Marija Mirjacic, on December 17th, 2018, read more at Vijesti
