The feasibility study on the possibilities for sustainable integration of health tourism, as the foundation and backbone of the development of Montenegrin municipalities, with other forms of tourism, agricultural production, environmental protection, and healthy lifestyles, prepared in accordance with the project assignment of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, was presented at a panel on public health at the local level held in Belgrade, organized by the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities of Serbia.
This concept, which in the long term enables the branding of all Montenegrin municipalities, as well as the country as a whole, as a BIO-ECO destination, was presented by the Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities Mišela Manojlović. She emphasized that the study primarily focuses on the hinterland areas of municipalities, particularly their rural and mountainous regions that have remained preserved, while also encompassing all other parts of municipal territories with natural potential for the development of air spas and other types of health resorts, rural tourism with wellness facilities, as well as other forms of tourism such as lake, river, religious, adventure, speleological, cultural, and gastronomic tourism, among others. The study will also take into account areas with potential for the production of healthy food and medicinal herbs, along with the design of diverse facilities and activities that promote healthy lifestyles.
“The diversity of offerings among municipalities points to the necessity of strong inter-municipal and international cooperation, through which the tourist season can be transformed into a year-round tourism industry, and the study will elaborate on this cooperation. It will also address spatial planning policies aimed at preserving the authenticity of the architecture and lifestyle in these areas, preventing the construction of large hotel complexes, and ensuring that all development benefits are enjoyed exclusively by local citizens, which is the path toward halting the depopulation trend in the northern region of Montenegro. In order to create the conditions necessary to achieve this goal, we have additionally ensured that the new Spatial Plan of Montenegro provides guidelines for protecting these areas from unplanned construction,” Manojlović stated in her presentation.
According to her, one of the tasks of the feasibility study is to propose a legal framework for introducing alternative methods of prevention and treatment into the Montenegrin healthcare system, which would be complementary to public healthcare and supported by appropriate certification and quality standards. The study will also explore the possibility of introducing health prevention as a subject within educational curricula, starting from preschool education. In this way, pressure on public healthcare institutions could gradually be reduced, following the principle that prevention is better than cure.
Manojlović recalled that Montenegro’s strategic documents already include a commitment to introducing scientifically based innovative therapies into the public healthcare system, such as hadron therapy, which is almost 100 percent effective for certain types of cancer and whose implementation is largely financially supported by the European Commission. Such methods, together with the development of alternative, chemical-free approaches, would complete Montenegro’s distinctive health tourism offer and make it competitive and recognizable within the European market.
The feasibility study is expected to be completed by the end of the year, after which the Union of Municipalities will promote it and offer it to municipalities as a form of support in creating local development policies with a new perspective.
