Drawing on ancient traditions and uplifted by global wellness tourism trends, Bosnian hotel and spa complex operator Banja Vrucica is looking for an investor in order to turn an old hotel into a senior wellness centre, the company's acting general director told EMIS.
“We have invested around EUR 15mn in development in the last four years and we have renovated two hotels, built a wellness centre and an open pool. However, we have two more hotels that are old and need upgrades. We have a ready project to turn one of them into a senior wellness centre and we are looking for a partner to make this a joint investment and find a market niche in Western Europe,” Aleksandar Radosevic said in an interview.
Banja Vrucica is the largest spa complex in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska with a total capacity of 1,000 beds. The company employs 300 people and has an annual turnover of around EUR 6mn. Banja Vrucica is located in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the town of Teslic, whose thermal mineral water springs were enjoyed by ancient Greeks and Romans alike.
“We are now actively looking for a partner. The joint venture is estimated at around EUR 5mn.” There is no final decision yet as to whether the future partner will get a minority or majority interest in the project, Radosevic explained.
“The most suitable partner would be an insurance company or a fund, which will grant us access to the specific market niche,” Radosevic noted.
Wellness tourism in 2013 accounted for about 6% of all domestic and international trips, according to data from the Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS). Wellness tourism is expected to grow by over 9% a year through 2017, at a pace almost 50% faster than the growth of traditional tourism. Europe is expected to be a major growth engine with more wellness trips annually than any other region. The GSWS survey revealed that Europe accounts for 39% of the domestic and international wellness tourism trips taken each year.
Banja Vrucica offers a myriad of wellness and spa procedures including thermal mineral baths, healing mud treatments, acupuncture, massages and beauty spa programmes. The resort is specifically focused on rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases.