The number of health tourists coming to Serbia is growing year-on-year, from 10% to 15% and it currently stands between 40,000 and 60,000 per year, says the National Association of Travel Agencies of Serbia (Juta).
Health tourists mostly come from the countries of former Yugoslavia, and somewhat less from the rest of Europe; mainly from central Europe and Scandinavia. 80% of them come for dental treatments, but also for cosmetic and orthopaedic surgery, writes the Politika daily.
In Serbia, dental treatments are 50% cheaper than anywhere else in Europe, while in regard to plastic surgery the savings are between 35% and 40%, and orthopaedic surgeries around 30%. Moreover, the quality of services in many segments is better than in the rest of the continent.
Out of health services provided to foreigners in Serbia, the percentage of sex reassignment operations is the lowest.
Data show that between 70 and 100 such operations are carried out every year in Belgrade, with the majority of patients coming from the United States and Canada, but also from Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Bosnia, and lately also from Italy, Israel, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The tourism development strategy, covering the period until 2025, identifies health tourism as one of the products of particular importance for the development of the healthcare industry.
Source; Serbian Monitor