www . turistickisvet . com of royal dynasties . These eight spas are : Brestovacka , Bukovicka , Vranjska , Vrnjacka , Koviljaca , Niska , Ribarska and Sokobanja . After World War II , the new Government , in accordance with its ideas , wanted to provide a stay in spas to all members of the society . Because of demographic characteristics of users of spa services , that period is called “ the union ( syndicate ) tourism ”. As spas were places , where rich people went earlier , at that time spas were becoming the gathering place of the working class , and because of that , they lost all characteristics of fashionable place . Their characteristics became : social realistic architecture , huge number of patients , low consumption of tourists and unregistered ( illegal ) private accommodation facilities . In late 70 ’ s the Pension Fund directs surplus funds to the construction of new health facilities , so this period can be considered as ano - ther prosperous for spas . However , from then to the pre sent day , there were few investments in spas ( except medical equipment ). That ’ s why spa ’ s medical centers have been more like hospitals then modern spa centers until 2002 .
SERBIAN SPAS VS . OPEN MARKET
Health facilities in Serbian spas are in the property of the state by the Ministry of Health . From a total number of overnights in Serbia ( 6.086.275 ), there are 1.852.000 overnights in spas . From 7.500 beds in health facilities in spas , about 3.500 of them are intended for rehabilitation . The rest of it is on the open market . This means that the state finances 50 % of the capacity and has access to 100 % of the capital ! Thereby the state finances rehabi - litation by the contracted price , which is lower than the regular price for tourists . In 2002 , after democratic changes in the so - ciety , there was a change in the management of spa facilities , and thus a change in a relation to the capacities on the open market . As we are aware , that the fastest way to knowledge , is to see how others do , since 2003 , our association has organized several study tours , which purpose was to get familiar with the way of work at foreign spa centers . So , we visited spas in Italy , Czech Republic , Slovakia , Hungary , Slovenia , Germany , Romania and Turkey . We learned a lot and applied that knowledge in practice .
THERE IS NO SPA WITHOUT THE MEDICINE
Investments in wellness contents are always cost – effective , especially when an institution has a medical staff that has learned their job for two centuries . We agree with the ESPA attitude that there is “ no spa without the medi - cine ”, and that combination in Serbia confirms ESPA ’ s opinion . Today , Serbian spas have modern wellness contents at their disposal , whose visitors are constantly monitored by a medical staff . We have adjusted knowledge we obtained during the visits to foreign spas , to the conditions of business in Serbia . The specificity of Serbian spas in regard to spas in Western Europe is the quality balneo -
Merkur - Vrnjacka Spa
Početak banjskog turizma u Srbiji povezan je sa prvim letnjikovcem , koji je princ Miloš Obrenović izgradio u Bukovičkoj banji 1811 . godine . Do kraja XIX veka , sve danas poznate banje imale su potvrdu o lekovitosti vode . “ Zlatno doba ” srpskih banja počinje izgradnjom prvih hotela u XIX veku . Od ranog XX veka do početka II svetskog rata , srpske banje beleže stalan rast broja smeštajnih kapaciteta i noćenja turista . Posle II Svetskog rata , nova Vlada , u skladu sa svojim idejama , želela je da obezbedi boravak u banjama svim članovima društva . Banjski medicinski centri više su ličili na bolnice , nego na moderne spa centre sve do 2002 . godine . Te , 2002 . godine , posle demokratskih promena u društvu , nastala je promena u upravljanju banjskim kapacitetima , a sa tim i promene koje se odnose na kapacitete namenjene slobodnom tržištu . Danas , srpske banje imaju moderne wellness sadržaje , i udružene sa banjama Balkana , zbog svojih specifičnosti mogle bi postati dobitna kombinacija na svetskom tržištu !
logy in combination with the traditional hospitality of the Serbian people and imaginative cuisine .
BALKAN ' SSPAS- THE BINGO COMBINATION
But this combination is not related just to Serbia , then to all of the Balkan countries . As I ’ ve already mentioned the word “ combination ”, specificities of Balkan ’ s spas might be a winning combination on the World market , “ the BINGO combination ”! But , a difficult job is ahead of us , we have to be diligent , and above all , unique and solidary . We must do our best to connect all the Balkan countries , collect all of the common ethnic components ( traditions , culture , gastronomy , music , customs and certificates tumultuous history ), profiling them and put into use the definition , creation and promotion of new tourist pro - duct in Europe – Balkan Spas . We will succeed if we follow all the quality programs of relaxation , prevention , and rehabilitation in our spas , “ packed ” in an authentic and intriguing tourist package , and show the rest of the world why we are unique . And why we are together .
Vladan Vesković , Secretary General at
Serbian Spa Association
oktobar / novembar 2016 TURISTIČKI SVET 7895