State Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Lukrecija Đeri met today with the representatives of the Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Environment, Energy and Mining, the Privatization Agency, the Serbian Spas Association and the Specialized Merkur Hospital, with whom she discussed the problems concerning the status of spas and specialized rehabilitation hospitals.

State Secretary Đeri said that we need to decide between two models on which it is possible to develop spa tourism. The first is to allow the arrival of commercial guests to specialized hospitals, and the second relates to the development of spa tourism in places where there are no specialized hospitals and rehabilitation centers, where the offer would be based on wellness and spa programs, without medical services.

It was concluded that it is necessary to solve the disputes between the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund and specialized rehabilitation hospitals, and that specialized hospitals must submit their IDs to the Privatization Agency in order to show the condition of their property, so that spas may be presented to investors.

The secretary of the Serbian Spas Association Vladan Vešković said that we should not treat specialized hospitals as spas and vice versa and that there is a need for a strategy for the development of spa tourism.

It was agreed to establish a Joint Working Group which will continue working on the regulations and issues related to the status of spas and specialized rehabilitation hospitals, in order to attract investments for the improvement of this type of tourism.

The Working Group will consist of representatives of all stakeholders who are in any way associated with spas and specialized hospitals.