{"id":7148,"date":"2026-03-18T20:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/?p=7148"},"modified":"2026-03-18T20:23:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:23:52","slug":"calls-grow-for-eu-wide-standards-in-health-tourism-and-cross-border-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/calls-grow-for-eu-wide-standards-in-health-tourism-and-cross-border-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Calls grow for EU-wide standards in health tourism and cross-border care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Health tourism is gaining strategic importance in Europe, with discussions at the European Health Tourism Industry Summit 2026<\/strong>, held on 17 March at the European Parliament, underlining the need for stronger coordination between tourism, healthcare and policy.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Organised by Health Tourism Industry (HTI) under the leadership of Ivana Kolar<\/strong> and hosted by MEP Nikolina Brnjac<\/strong>, the summit brought together policymakers, tourism leaders and healthcare experts to discuss how Europe can position itself as a global leader in health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sector gaining political momentum<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Opening the summit, Ivana Kolar described health tourism as a broad and rapidly evolving field, covering \u201cgeneral spa, prevention, rehabilitation, medical\u201d services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kolar stressed that the sector sits at the intersection of public policy and private investment, noting that HTI provides \u201ca unique platform that connects policymakers, destinations, health providers, facilitators, investors, and industry associations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MEP Nikolina Brnjac framed the discussion in a wider European context, arguing that health tourism must become a central component of Europe\u2019s future. \u201cI strongly believe that health tourism is an important driver of tourism sustainability,\u201d she said, adding that it is also \u201ca crucial ingredient in the new branding of destination Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She highlighted growing pressures from ageing populations, climate change and geopolitical uncertainty, noting that \u201cat the very core of health tourism is the contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brnjac also pointed to the economic dimension of the sector. \u201cHealth tourists spend around eight to ten times more than other tourists,\u201d<\/strong> she said, calling for harmonised European standards and increased investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe\u2019s competitive edge in wellbeing tourism<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Eduardo Santander, CEO of the European Travel Commission<\/strong>, emphasised that health and wellbeing tourism is no longer a niche trend but a structural shift in travel behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s here to stay,\u201d he said, pointing to the growing demand for wellness-focused experiences and quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santander argued that Europe already has the foundations to lead globally, thanks to its diversity, cultural heritage and long-standing wellness traditions. He also stressed that tourism must evolve beyond recovery towards what he described as \u201csmart growth\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to start thinking about tourism as not an extraction form of industry but one that is investing, especially in its people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, he highlighted the importance of cooperation between destinations. \u201cIf we work together to position Europe as a shared destination for wellbeing tourism, we all will win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preventive health and spa medicine under the spotlight<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A central moment of the summit came with the intervention of Siyka Katsarova, President of the European Spas Association<\/strong>, who called preventive health and spa medicine one of Europe\u2019s most underutilised assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to the Covid-19 period, she noted that citizens increasingly turned to natural and preventive solutions. \u201cPeople were just looking for solutions to improve healthcare,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katsarova argued that health tourism can help tackle one of Europe\u2019s structural tourism challenges: seasonality. Countries such as Croatia, Greece, Spain and Italy could benefit from more year-round health-focused offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crucially, she insisted that health tourism must be treated as a cross-sector priority. \u201cHealth tourism is sitting in between two main industries,\u201d she said, referring to tourism and healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also warned that Europe risks falling behind global competitors. \u201cEurope is sleeping,\u201d she said, urging policymakers to better leverage the continent\u2019s \u201cnatural healing resources\u201d and adopt a more holistic approach to health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Katsarova, the sector already represents a significant economic force, with more than 1,400 certified medical spas, over 850,000 jobs, 25 million annual visitors and a \u20ac50 billion impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne euro investment in prevention is saving seven euros from healthcare,\u201d she added, making the case for stronger policy support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cross-border healthcare is still too complex<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

MEP Tomislav Sokol addressed the legal framework governing cross-border healthcare, warning that existing EU rules remain too complicated for most patients.\u201cThese legal rules are so complicated that you need to be a health law expert to know what your rights are,\u201d he said, describing the current system as \u201ca mess\u201d.

While EU legislation allows patients to seek treatment abroad under certain conditions, Sokol said that overlapping rules, administrative barriers and lack of awareness prevent the system from functioning effectively. He called for simplification, better information for patients and the creation of structured cross-border healthcare pathways, including centres of excellence serving multiple countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality for patients on the ground<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Michal Dybowski, President of the Healthcare Poland Foundation<\/strong>, brought a practical perspective, highlighting the gap between legislation and real-life patient experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a problem with our law because the law is good. But we have a serious problem with how we really execute them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through a series of case studies, he illustrated how patients face obstacles such as lack of reimbursement, poor transfer of medical records and long administrative delays. Among the most striking figures he cited was the average waiting time for reimbursement approval. \u201c531 days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dybowski also pointed to the absence of common quality standards for medical providers, limited patient information and the lack of coordinated visa policies for medical travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these challenges, he insisted that solutions are within reach, including digital tools, shared standards and the future European Health Data Space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not utopia. We\u2019ve got to build it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A window of opportunity for Europe<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Across the summit, a clear message emerged: Europe has all the ingredients to lead in health tourism, but lacks the coordination and political prioritisation needed to unlock its full potential.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a European strategy for sustainable tourism<\/a> expected in the coming months, stakeholders see a crucial opportunity to integrate prevention, wellbeing and cross-border healthcare into the EU agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As discussions continue in Brussels, health tourism is increasingly being recognised not as a niche, but as a strategic asset for Europe\u2019s competitiveness, resilience and quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Ant\u00f3nio Buscardini<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: https:\/\/traveltomorrow.com\/calls-grow-for-eu-wide-standards-in-health-tourism-and-cross-border-care\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional information about the event: https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/news\/ro\/press-room\/20260316IPR38220\/meps-advocate-for-smart-management-of-tourism<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Health tourism is gaining strategic importance in Europe, with discussions at the European Health Tourism Industry Summit 2026, held on 17 March at the European Parliament, underlining the need for stronger coordination between tourism, healthcare and policy. Organised by Health Tourism Industry (HTI) under the leadership of Ivana Kolar and hosted by MEP Nikolina Brnjac, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,61,211],"tags":[698,697,696],"class_list":{"0":"post-7148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-events","8":"category-news","9":"category-prevention","10":"tag-european-parliament","11":"tag-health-tourism-industry","12":"tag-hti"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7148"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7156,"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7148\/revisions\/7156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/europeanspas.eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}