June 8, 2021 - For all those looking to put the troubled past and stress behind them, the Weekend for Health event in Ivanić-Grad may be the solution. The city's tourist board has organized a full program of relaxation, exercise, and meditation activities on June 12 and 13.

After several months of isolation, which affected the physical and mental health of people, it is time for citizens to relax and "reset" in Ivanić-Grad. A series of free activities aimed at health, as part of the Weekend for Health event, will be held at the Zelenjak Sports Park next to the Naftalan Special Hospital and at their new swimming pools, in compliance with all epidemiological measures, reported Turističke Priče today.

Those who want to swim for free can do so on Saturday and Sunday, from 9 am to 7 pm at the new SB Naftalan pools. For those younger, from 7 to 10 years, a swimming school is organized both days, while adults will be able to enjoy functional training, aqua aerobics, and senior Pilates. In addition to swimming pools, sugar and blood pressure measurements will be organized in the morning, as well as a series of lectures and workshops on the topic of active aging, running, stretching, aromatherapy, how to cook for children, and more.

Ivanić-Grad Tourist Board

On both days of the Weekend for Health event, people of all ages will be able to rent props for table tennis, badminton, bowling, play tennis on the tennis courts, and have a good time. The youngest ones can join the workshop for making puppets, and there will also be acting for children from 10 am. From 4 pm, they are provided with entertainment by dancing or playing on the training ground. Adults can relax during this time with breathing exercises, sun salutations, or a gong bath. If you are not ready for exercise and an active weekend, you can watch the Croatian Junior Crossbow Championship, children's handball tournament, or streetball. Explore Ivanić and find out which are the three black gold medals of Moslavina on an interesting educational walk with a guide on Saturday and Sunday at 11 am.

You can take a break with healthy snacks in Caffe bar Naftalan 2, Dribbling Food Caffe, or Café bar Zelenjak. Local products can be found at a small fair of local family farms. Enjoy an open-air concert by Jelena Mesarić and Saša Tadić by the old pool on Saturday night from 8 pm.

In order for us all to remain healthy, safe, and happy, care must be taken to adhere to epidemiological measures. Therefore, the number of seats in some groups is limited and it is advisable to reserve your seat in advance. For group training organized by the Special Hospital Naftalan, you can do it by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone on 01 2834 533. For other content, there is an e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or number 01 2881 591. In case there is bad weather, events will be unfortunately canceled.

There will be no shortage of rich events for the rest of the month. A weekend for wellness and recreation awaits you at the Petek Excursion Site and the Sport Hotel on June 19 and 20. Next, June 26, a weekend in nature, ie hiking in the Marča forest and a visit to the Kezele Rural Tourism. Detailed information about entertainment events is available on Facebook and the website of the Ivanić-Grad Tourist Board.

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ZAGREB, February 23, 2020 - Zagreb County has significantly developed its tourist trade and infrastructure, and Naftalan, a special hospital for medical rehabilitation in Ivanić Grad, plays a marked role in that.

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli, who visited the hospital recently, praised the development of medical tourism and Naftalan for efforts to upgrade its business. Cappelli said that medical tourism was one of the three strategic goals of the further development of Croatia's tourist trade.

This hospital in Ivanic Grad, some 40 kilometres southeast of Zagreb, is expanding its facilities through an investment project worth HRK 63.5 million (€8.5m) which includes the upgrade of the existing swimming pools and other amenities.

Naftalan, founded in 1989, successfully performs "treatments with the help of thermal saltwater and healing naftalan oil – which makes the hospital unique globally," according to the information available on the hospital's website.

"This mineral oil is included among natural health factors, and our experts developed a system of its use in baths – that is, naftalan therapy."

Naftalan is the only hospital in Europe and one of the few in the world to provide treatment for skin and inflammatory rheumatic diseases using a unique natural resource - naftalan mineral oil. Naftalan is a therapeutic mineral oil that is commercially used in medicine only in Azerbaijan and Ivanić Grad.

Combined with other modern therapies, naftalan efficiently treats psoriasis and diseases of the human musculoskeletal system, says the hospital.

More tourism news can be found in the Travel section.

September 21, 2019 - Could Biograd na Moru be Croatia's next big health tourism destination?

HRTurizam writes that the last session of the Biograd City Council discussed the strategy of developing medical tourism in Biograd na Moru.

The Strategy of Development of Biograd na Moru has defined tourism as one of the main drivers of economic development, especially health tourism, where Biograd na Moru sees a great opportunity. The backbone of all is the Biograd Special Orthopedic Hospital in the heart of the Adriatic, with an ideal climate according to the Koppen classification.

As Biograd na Moru points out, the proposal for a Decision on adopting the Strategy for the Development of Medical Tourism in Biograd na Moru was presented by a Ph.D Branko Vitale, MD. 

“Biograd has an ideal climate for climate therapy and medical-rehabilitation tourism, which includes a gerontology and geriatric center. The project is being prepared for an international competition in Norway, and we have a lot of support from the Ministry of Health and the Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP), an association of American professionals from Croatia,” said Vitale, who launched the Biograd Initiative for the Medical-Tourism Center project.

Namely, the US mega clinic Cleveland Clinic, which is led by Croatian Tomislav Mihaljevic and employs over 60,000 people, has 7.5 million patients and annual revenues of about $10 billion. The annual ACAP conference will be held on September 21, which will present the Biograd project of medical-rehabilitation tourism within a 15-minute presentation. 

“Biograd na Moru, with its health and tourism facilities, has all the preconditions to develop into the leading gerontology and geriatric center of the European Union, by providing a fully-rounded medical-rehabilitation, tourism, and cultural center. All these activities additionally ensure the use of all quality accommodation facilities and thus year-round employment, not only in Biograd, but also in the wider region,” says Vitale, pointing out the construction of a large retirement village not far from the Adria Hotel.

Vitale adds that the center will be operated according to the Scandinavian model. Moreover, the Orthopedic Hospital is the backbone of the development of Biograd, and in four years, it must be at the EU level, or it will not be, according to Vitale.

The climate therapy and medical-rehabilitation tourism project, which also includes the gerontology and geriatric center in Biograd, is supported by the Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP), an association of American professionals from Croatia, whose members represent all sides of the international professional community, such as scientists, doctors, engineers, lawyers, artists, journalists, business executives, accountants, and more.

The newly reconstructed system of the hospital as an integral part of the cluster envisages the Center for Geriatric Orthopedics, the first Croatian Center for Gerontology and Geriatrics, the Rehabilitation Center, the Specialist Counselling Center and the Education Center.

"We have potential investors, primarily Norwegians. We have already been to Norway, and they will come to Biograd twice by the end of the year, so that we can receive lessons for applying for an international competition to the Government of Norway and the University Hospital in Oslo for the construction of a gerontology and geriatric center in Biograd. The Germans are interested in Red Harbor for their health needs, mainly respiratory diseases and asthma. Here, as in the Adria Hotel, there is excellent accommodation for the patients of the gerontology and geriatric center. A retirement village will be built near the Adria Hotel, which will accommodate over 500 people, and a tourist complex with thousands of beds will be built on the island of Pasman. These are all potential users of the Gerontology and Geriatric Center, and flight connections with Norway, America, and other countries will be established,” says Vitale, adding that it is necessary to form a Dalmatia cluster to enter the world market in cooperation with Kvarner.

The mentioned medical content is aimed primarily at the treatment of diseases of the third age, which requires a lot of professionals, emphasizes Vitale, and concludes: “The project of the medical-tourist orthopedic-rehabilitation center in Biograd is bound to succeed. We have Norwegians and Americans, and the City of Biograd. We also have good personal relationships with people who want to help Biograd and Croatia. All heads should go under one cap. We in Biograd, Zadar County and the Republic of Croatia must be unique in this project of the century. If there is a setback, the project can slow down but not stop.”

Finally, it should be noted that the Decision on submitting a letter of intent to exercise the founding rights and obligations of the Special Orthopedic Hospital was made at the City Council of Biograd na Moru.

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For a long time now, we've been trying to show and tell people that Croatia is far, far more than just the sun and the sea. Sure, the sparkling Adriatic and the warm climate is of course a big draw for many who take to Croatia's beautiful coastline every summer, but those who think that's all that this incredible little country has to offer are sadly mistaken.

I'm not just talking about the more encouraging numbers of tourists starting to uncover continental Croatia, Eastern Croatia and the country's various hidden gems, but about the Croatia which lies outside of the tourism bubble entirely, well... almost.

Tourism makes up a large part of Croatia's GDP and there's no denying that it is by far the country's strongest economic branch, this is not always a particularly positive thing and owing to it, Croatia has been plagued by enormous seasonality in terms of the economy and the labour market. Unemployment traditionally drops quite suddenly and by a significant amount during the run up to the bustling summer tourist season, especially on the coast, and then rises once again come the end of October thanks to the attempted lengthening of the tourist season, if not before.

Now a victim to a demographic crisis, mass emigration thanks to the country's membership of the EU's single market and a strange paradox in which there are no jobs but plenty of would-be employees but also many jobs and nobody who wants to do them, it's becoming more and more obvious that despite it being the country's strongest economic branch, relying almost entirely on tourist money might not be the best plan. 

So, what else does Croatia have? It has some excellent doctors and nurses and many truly outstanding medical facilities. As Croatia tries to position itself as much more than ''just sea and sunshine'', medical tourism, or perhaps better to say ''health tourism'' has begun to take off, and with some promising results. Just recently, Donald Trump's first wife, Ivana, was in Zagreb for eye surgery at the well known Svjetlost clinic, where she underwent a procedure to restore her vision to normality and afford her a life without glasses and/or contact lenses. People like Ivana catch people's attention, and she's just one of many who have found their way to Croatia for a procedure of some sort.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 29th of April, 2019, tourists from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are increasingly travelling to Croatia and love luxury hotels and villas, and the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) is set to present Croatia's rich tourist offer at the ATM Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on May the 1st, 2019.

In the scope of the above, HTZ Director Kristjan Staničić met with media and partners such as WEGO, Medical Ozone, AVIAREPS, Jordan's Tourism Organization, Meetin and Think Strawberries.

"Presenting Croatia on this market and cooperation with the UAE has multiple effects for Croatian tourism and for the economy, and the direct air link between Zagreb and Dubai with Emirates has led to an increased demand from business travellers, as well as tourists from East Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and then even Australia,'' he said.

There are also high expectations from the new Fly Dubai line, which will link Dubrovnik and Dubai from June the 2nd to October the 13th.

Citizens of the UAE realised 25.5 thousand overnight stays in Croatia last year, and most of them came to Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split. They are typically demanding guests who love a touch of luxury and are travelling more and more.

In addition to HTZ, there are seven co-exhibitors, TZ Zagreb, TZ Dubrovnik-Neretva County, NP Plitvice Lakes, HUP, Amathus Travel Croatia, Abacus Tours and Jung Sky.

Zagreb will be presented in Dubai as a city break, as well as a health tourism destination.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel and lifestyle pages for much more. If it's just the Croatian capital you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow or check out Zagreb in a Page. Find out more about Croatia's blossoming health tourism story, as well as the health system in general, here.

Click here for the original article by Marija Crnjak for Poslovni Dnevnik

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 26th of April, 2019, Ivana Trump, President Donald Trump's first wife, has been staying in Zagreb over the past few days, and one of the main reasons for her visit to Croatia is for her to undergo eye surgery that has now been safely and successfully performed at the Zagreb's well known Svjetlost Clinic.

Owing to the intervention of Svjetlost Clinic, the first wife of Donald Trump has permanently resolved her vision problems.

Ivana Trump is an internationally known public fiture who decided to entrust the health of her eyes to Croatian experts from the Svjetlost Clinic, more specifically to prof. dr. sc. Nikica Gabrić, who personally operated on her.

''I was told about the top ophthalmic clinic in Zagreb by friends from New York who had already had their operations here. With them, I noticed that their operations had totally raised their quality of life,'' said Ivana Trump after surgery.

Ivana Trump visited Zagreb's Svjetlost Clinic last year when she arrived in Zagreb to participate as an honorary guest of the Miss Universe Croatia competition. Then, she underwent an examination with Professor Gabrić, who advised her to install Symfony intraocular lenses to solve her vision problems. Back then, she couldn't undergo the surgery due to obligations she had, but that's why she visited Zagreb again to get rid of the need to wear glasses forever.

"The operation was fast, painless, and I can see today without any problems without glasses. I have a completely different and glorious view of the world I'm going to discover again,'' added a satisfied Ivana Trump.

"With the arrival of patients like Ivana Trump, the perception of Croatia is beginning to change as a country that offers guests just the sea and the sun. Such events create the story of Croatia as a desirable destination for health tourism and the country where the most demanding patients can get top medical services. The Svjetlost Clinic crossed over the borders of Croatia long ago and has become a brand known out there in the world, and this can only be achieved if you have modern technology, top-notch experienced specialists, but also a special approach for every patient,'' stated dr. sc. Nikica Gabrić.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow, or find out everything you need to know in one page here. Interested in health tourism in Croatia? Click here.

Year-round tourism is a term on everyone's lips, but just how do we go about actually achieving it?

Wine roads, bike routes, numerous events and a rich gastronomical offer, coupled with the immediate vicinity of the City of Zagreb and the opening of several new hotels have transformed Zagreb County into a year-round destination. A 34 percent increase in tourism confirms that fact.

Last week Korčula Island hosted conference initiator MEP Ruža Tomašić, political officials, representatives of four Croatian ministries and the European Commission, foreign investors and directors of institutions to discuss the future of health tourism on the island.

A somewhat different kind of health tourism for Medjimurje.

In less than ten days Crikvenica, recently declared the most successful health destination in Croatia at the Croatian Tourism Days, will host an international conference dedicated to health tourism.