Speaking at the signing ceremony, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that Croatia was part of one of the most developed European regions in respect of health tourism which has great positive demographic, social and cultural effects and effects on the development of continental tourism.
"Considering the population ageing trend and an increasing focus on healthy life and preventative healthcare, health tourism is expected to be one of the main motives for travel in the future. It also has a positive impact on supporting activities and tourism products such as gastro and sports tourism," Cappelli said.
He noted that health tourism was defined in the Tourism Development Strategy by 2020 as one of the most important Croatian tourism products.
Dragan Primorac, CEO of St Catherine Hospital, said that global revenues from medical tourism exceeded US$60 billion and were expected to reach $100 billion within several years.
"Britain has a completely organised healthcare system and British patients travel abroad for treatment only at those hospitals which they consider to be among the best in terms of quality," he said.
OBW CEO Ruth Taylor said that St Catherine's was a European centre of excellence in its field and that OAW wanted it to become a leading health institution in this part of Europe where Britons would be treated for problems of the musculoskeletal system.
Established in 1999, OAW is a leading British corporation in the area of medical tourism which has arranged medical treatment abroad for more than 50,000 UK citizens.
St Catherine Hospital specialises in orthopaedic surgery, internal medicine, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and offers personalised medical care.