Varna Deputy Mayor: Health Tourism Today Much More Than Industry

Varna Deputy Mayor Snezhana Apostolova, who is responsible for tourism, said health tourism today is much more than an industry. She was speaking at the opening of the HEALTHXCHANGE 2026 in the Golden Sands resort on Tuesday.

She added that health tourism is an investment in the future, in quality of life and in the sustainable development of destinations.

"It is a great honour for me, on behalf of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, to warmly welcome you to this summit - a forum bringing together leading experts, professionals and visionaries in health, medical and wellness tourism from around the world," Apostolova said in her address.

She noted that it was a privilege for Varna to host the important international event, held in two of Bulgaria's best-known seaside resorts - Golden Sands and Sts. Constantine and Helena. In her words, these are places where the sea, mineral springs, natural resources and modern tourism infrastructure create a unique environment for recovery, balance and quality living.

Varna aspires to be recognized as a destination successfully combining medical expertise, spa and wellness traditions, exceptional natural resources and a high-quality tourism product, Apostolova added.

The event is organized by the European Spas Association (ESPA), the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA) and the Health Tourism Industry (HTI) Conference & Expo - an international platform and event organization focused on the development of health, spa, wellness, and medical tourism. The forum is hosted by the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism and Varna Municipality. HEALTHXCHANGE Summit takes place in the year marking the 20th anniversary of BUBSPA.

BTA is the main media partner of the event. Especially for the forum, BTA has prepared the BG SPA - Health Through Water catalogue featuring news from 128 certified spa, wellness, and medical spa centers in Bulgaria, of which there are over 200 in total. Copies of the specialized publication in Bulgarian and English will be provided to forum delegates. The catalog is available on the BTA website in electronic format in Bulgarian and in English.

/IV/