Piešťany is known for its healing waters and mud. (source: Courtesy of Spa Piešťany)
Concerning destinations where people travel for medical treatment, one usually thinks of countries like Thailand, India, the United States, or even Hungary.
Although Slovakia does not usually come to mind, it welcomes thousands of foreigners every year who seek the healing powers of its spas.
“Slovakia, known for its natural healing streams, is unique in several parameters,” Karolína Ducká, spokesperson for the Transport Ministry, told The Slovak Spectator.
Apart from medical spas, foreigners search more often for medical tourism abroad, which is tailored towards patients struggling to afford or find the right treatment at home, the clinics addressed by The Slovak Spectator affirmed.
Unique medical spas
Slovakia’s medical spas are among the oldest and highest-quality ones in central Europe.
The rising number of foreigners visiting these spas has been confirmed by the Transport Ministry’s statistics. The number of visitors at medical spa hotels increased 8.7 percent annually in 2018, while the number of nights spent at spa hotels rose from 6.5 nights on average in 2017 to 6.7 nights on average the year after, Ducká said.
