Bulgaria has opportunities to develop health tourism but until now progress has been chaotic.

Health tourism is nothing new. It has been pursued for many years by both poor and rich countries. Its prospects are usually not fully understood and as a result, there are poor countries with very well-developed health tourism, and rich states, where no one cares about it.

Usually, health tourism is divided into two main types - medical treatment and balneology. Regarding balneology, terms used also include spa, wellness and others. However, it is all balneology and only methods used vary among the different facilities.

Bulgarian doctors believe that this country has enormous potential for developing medical treatment tourism. There are some excellent medical and dental centres, as well as privately-owned hospitals, in Bulgaria.

Medical treatment in Bulgaria is used by Greeks, Serbs and Macedonians in cities and towns like Sofia, Varna, Rousse, Vidin, Blagoevgrad, Sandanski and Gotse Delchev. However, no organisation exists and there is no ranking of services.

So far, medical treatment services offered to foreigners in Bulgaria have included dentistry, cosmetics and plastic surgery, and some eye operations. But, there are many other medical procedures that are lot more expensive and could be offered to wealthy foreigners for a price that is much lower and less time-consuming than in their country of origin.

In the UK for instance, a myoma operation should be planned for as much as three years ahead. The treatment of sterility in Spain is delayed by an average of five years when it is financed by the country's health insurance fund. 

The waiting list of sick Europeans will continue to be long in their own countries. This is a chance for Bulgaria to demonstrate it has good medical practitioners and well-developed clinics. The country however, has to advertise that it offers medical treatment at lower price but with high quality.

Meanwhile, state authorities are struggling to advertise Bulgaria as a tourist destination, but with as less funds as possible.

Mario al-Djebouri, chairman of the State Agency on Tourism, gave a briefing in Austria on August 24 on trends in the development of tourism in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe. Al-Djebouri was among participants in the second conference of the European regions in the Austrian city of Salzburg.

His presentation was dedicated to the potential for cultural and eco tourism in the countries of Eastern Europe. Emphasis was laid on Bulgaria's strategic goals in developing alternative forms of tourism, on the distribution of tourist products and the mobility in the country, on target marketing and promotional activities in the future.

Al-Djebouri said that Bulgaria was orientated towards developing alternative tourism, while preserving the importance of traditional summer and winter tourism.