Plastic Surgery 65% Cheaper In Croatia

Croatia has top class surgeons, advanced medical technology and according to recent research by portal CroMedicor, up to 65% cheaper prices for plastic surgery than the rest of EU, but experts say that until Croatia works on its branding as a medical tourism destination, it will have trouble attracting more clients.

Breast enlargement operations in Croatia are around 3,300 euros cheaper than in Italy, and 1,159 euros cheaper than in Germany, whilst ear pinning is 500 euros cheaper in Croatia than it is in Slovenia and a massive 3,145 euros cheaper than in the UK.

Nevertheless, foreigners are not coming to Croatia for plastic surgery, as Turkey and countries in the far east such as Singapore and South Korea remain the most popular destination for those wanting surgery on the cheap.

“It is a fact that for years we have been selling just sun and the sea, whilst we neglect to promote other forms of tourism, meaning Croatia is not branded as a nation for medical tourism,” said Miljenko Bure, president of the Medical Tourism Development Association.

Bure says that Croatia needs to invest in the branding of the country as a medical tourism destination in the next two years, first developing the current capacity.

“Investors from Germany, Austria and the United Arab Emirates are already interested in investing in Croatia, but for them to come Croatia needs to invest in around 65,000 euros per destination to develop projects which will be presented to investors,” Bure told daily Vecernji list.