Bulgaria presents for the first time its opportunities for year-round health tourism to Austria

The first official presentation of Bulgaria as a destination for health tourism (with a focus on Medical/SPA and wellness) before a professional Austrian audience will take place in Vienna today, announced the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism.

The event is being held with the support of the Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria and with the assistance of the Embassy of Bulgaria in Austria. The Minister of Tourism Zaritsa Dinkova and the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Austria Desislava Naydenova-Gospodinova are expected to attend the forum.

Pazar Austria is the second project of the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and Spa Tourism, with which the organization continues its consistent policy of positioning our country as a destination for year-round quality health tourism on the international market, after the German Association of Health Insurance Funds was the first to include Bulgaria in the list of countries in which it recognizes and reimburses rehabilitation costs, the press release recalls.

The state German National Association of Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband) expanded the list of countries in which it recognizes the provision of medical outpatient services, and Bulgaria was added to it on September 20, 2019. According to data from the end of July 2020, there are more than 80 certified centers in our country offering spa, wellness and rehabilitation services that already have the opportunity to partner with German health insurance funds.

The event in Vienna is the first official presentation of Bulgaria to Austrian insurance companies, travel agencies, tour operators and tourism professionals. Investors of the largest Bulgarian Medical/SPA and SPA facilities, providing year-round health tourism services, are coming to participate in the forum in Vienna, the press release of the organizers states.

Bulgaria is a popular destination among Austrian tourists mainly due to its mass tourism, the Ministry of Tourism commented in mid-March in connection with one of the last participations of our country at the exhibition in Vienna. Bulgaria is a preferred place for summer vacations along the Black Sea, for mountain and winter recreation, as well as for balneotherapy at attractive prices with high quality. Tourist demand suggests the potential for the development of other specialized services, such as various opportunities for tours around Bulgaria with motorcycles, caravans, campers, proposals for city breaks tours, wellness programs, combined trips, cultural, maritime, religious tourism (visiting monasteries), etc. .