October 23, 2021 - The enormous potential of the Croatian medical tourism industry will once more be the focus next month, as global experts assemble for the annual Crikvenica International Health Tourism conference, CIHT 2021. 

After reporting on the news about Croatia for a number of years now, certain things begin to follow a pattern. 

I always report on the Za Krizen procession in Jelsa just before Easter, for example, and there is always a visit to Advent in Zagreb. And early November is reserved for one of my favourite - and impressive - conferences in Croatia, the Crikvenica International Health Tourism conference, or CIHT 2021. 

It has a special place in my heart as it was the catalyst for probably the most unlikeliest stories of my writing career a couple of years ago, as my wife and I found ourselves on a plane to Malaysia where I picked up an award for best online international feature as the inaugural Medical Travel Media Awards in Kuala Lumpur. 

Crikvenica and Malaysia may seem an unlikely combination, and I would have agreed with that had I not met one of the most energetic promoters of all things Croatia, Ognjen Bagatin. 

Co-owner of the hugely successful Bagatin Clinic, Ognjen was passionate about the promotion of the medical tourism industry and realising its potential. 

When I met him, I had no idea that Croatia even had a medical tourism industry. Within 10 minutes of meeting him, I was wondering why the whole world didn't know about the excellence on offer in Croatian clinics, and at very competitive prices. 

It did not take me long to learn that the biggest brand in Croatian medical tourism globally - with the possible execption of Bagatin Clinic at St Catherine's Specialty Hospital - was not in fact Croatia itself, but something called the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster. This was an alliance of interested stakeholders in the medical tourism industry who were doing fantastic work bringing patients for treatment in a number of specialist medical fields, from dentistry to physiotherapy. 

The highlight of the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster's calendar was an annual conference called CIHT (Crikvenica International Health Tourism conference). Ognjen encouraged me to participate where he promised a great conference with some outstanding presentations and people to interview. 

I was stunned by the high-quality of the international experts who had all made the journey to the Crikvenica Riviera for this health conference out of season in November. Keynote speakers I got to interview included Keith Pollard, Editor-in-Chief of the International Medical Travel Journal, Ilan Geva from the USA, a leading medical tourism (and other) branding specialist, and Sherene Azli, the charismatic CEO of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council. 

Sherene's presentation was one of the finest I have seen at every conference, and little did I know it, but that interview started a chain of events which would have me on that plan to Kuala Lumpur less than a year later. 

A year later, I was back in Crikvenica, this time also as a (terrible) conference speaker, sharing the podium with medical tourism experts who had flown in from leading establishmnents such as Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. 

The Crikvenica was a hit, and a significant player in the global medical tourism calendar. And after the horrors of the 2020 pandemic, I shall once more be making my way down to the Crikvenica Riviera early next month, to take part in CIHT 2021. 

After a brief (ok, not so brief) COVID interruption last year, Croatian medical tourism is back, and with some very useful additions to the story. The massive expansion of Ryanair (40 destinations for Zagreb alone by next summer) is opening up affordable Croatian medical tourism to more countries and destinations than ever before. 

Another welcome trend is the rise in the remote work culture. Croatia is enjoying considerable success in its digital nomad story, and the excellent services of the medical tourism industry should be inserted into that initiative, to the benefit of all sides. 

CIHT 2021 once more has a very strong lineup, and anyone interested in the medical tourism industry will find a night for them at this year's event. You can see the programme of the two-day event above, and you can get more details and register on the official website. 

I can't promise you a trip to Malaysia if you do attend, but it is definitely one of the best organised, most social, and content-rich conferences on the Croatian conference scene. 

ZAGREB, 4 July, 2021 - The Rident dental clinic from Rijeka has won an award as the best European clinic for patient group work at the 5th European Medical Tourism (EMT) conference in Abano Terme, Italy, held earlier this week.

The conference was an opportunity for travel agencies and tour operators to link up with spas, clinics and hospitals from around the world. The attendance of Croatian participants was organised by the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster in cooperation with the Kvarner Tourist Board.

Rident Clinic was established in Rijeka in 2004, and has a branch office in Poreč. It has 38 dental medicine surgeries, three dental medicine laboratories, 36 dentists, 45 dental assistants, 68 dental technicians, four medical radiology engineers, and more than 60,000 patients a year.

Apart from Rident, Poliderma Clinic from Zagreb has also won an EMT award, the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster said. This clinic will soon open its branch at the Ambassador Hotel in Opatija.

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January 27, 2021 – They promised its arrival this spring and, true to their word, these first-look photos show the construction of the beautiful new Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa is complete

With an investment of €80 million and the keen co-operation of the city authorities, the arrival date of the new Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa was never in doubt. They said it would be ready for spring and due to open its doors in April. As these first look pictures show, they've been true to their word. Construction of the new Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa is complete.

Its been at times difficult to fully visualise the completed project from the glossy, computer-generated builders' images of how they predict the finished product will look. Rijeka residents too have had their worries – would the new promenade in front of the complex (paid for with city money) place a section of their beloved coastline off-limits to those not staying at the Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa?

They needn't have worried. As these new images show, the major construction work at the Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa is complete. It looks as though they could throw open the doors tomorrow. The worried-over promenade snakes between the main complex and the hotel residents' beach area. It allows pedestrians full access to the seafront – they can pass along the entire front facade of the Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa and enjoy the view from the shore just as much as hotel residents. When the Rijeka Hilton finally opens its doors, they'll also be able to take advantage of all of its spa facilities too, which will be opened up to local residents via a membership scheme.

The Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa complex has been built across a considerable 18,000 square metres. The main building complex has 10 floors which hold 132 rooms. The site also has 66 villas separate to the main building, six restaurant/bar/food outlets, a private beach, and one of the largest wellness facilities in the region - the two-floored spa area covers more than 3,000 square metres.

The new photos of the complete Rijeka Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa, which are signed as Mr. Fly, were posted publicly to the Facebook group Riječka enciklopedija - Fluminensia by renowned Rijeka photographer Dario Matijević, whose breathtaking images of the nature, landscapes and cityscapes of the Kvarner region are often signed as Baredice Photo and can be enjoyed here. They were subsequently used by RiPortal in their coverage of this story.

September 9, 2020 - The Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster became a finalist at the IMTJ Medical Travel Awards 2020 in the category for Health and Medical Tourism Cluster of the Year.

"This is exactly confirmation of how the Cluster is fulfilling its mission, ensuring even better development of our region's health tourism offer and positioning itself on the European map of health tourism destinations," the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster points out on HRTurizam.

The IMTJ Medical Travel Summit is one of the world's largest health tourism conferences, bringing together more than 350 leading health tourism professionals each year.

Recall that in 2016, after less than two years of operation, the Cluster won its first IMTJ award in the category "Health and Medical-Tourism Cluster of the Year," while in 2018, it entered the finals in the same category with Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council and Gran Canaria SPA Wellness & Health Association. The Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster, in addition to being a regular participant in the conference, brought the conference to Opatija in 2017 and was a co-organizer, bringing together 270 participants from as many as 34 countries around the world.

Due to the new coronavirus pandemic, this year’s awards ceremony will be held online. The winners will be announced during a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at the end of the final day of the IMTJ Medical Travel Summit.

The IMTJ Medical Travel Awards 2020 recognizes outstanding achievements in medical travel, medical tourism, and the global health tourism industry. This year, a new category was added - Outstanding response to COVID. The award recognized outstanding leadership or service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic period for organizations that have positively impacted their community of patients, staff, and their families. You can read more about the IMTJ Medical Travel Awards 2020 here.

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