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.

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