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Romania, to host in September first international congress on balneal and medical tourism
The Regional Development and Tourism Ministry (MDRT) in September, in Romania, together with the World Tourism Organization (WTM), will organize the first international congress on balneal and medical tourism, reports an MDRT release, remitted on Wednesday.
Romanian Regional Development and Tourism Minister Cristian Petrescu in Spain met WTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai with whom he discussed the organization agenda of the event, in which will participate the most important international specialists in medical tourism, doctors, tour operators and other representatives of the world tourism industry.
'In Romania there are natural resources with therapeutic effects of all the groups registered in the catalogue of the World Health Organization and the natural factors place us among the countries with the most important resources of the kind. Lately, we have implemented investments in the balneal tourist infrastructure, we have attested the first localities as balneal resorts and, of course, we have started the promotion of this tourist product both nationwide and in the most significant international events. Moreover, we are preparing for 2013, when the European directive on trans-border medical assistance comes into force, through which the Union's citizens will benefit from the status of insured in any EU country,' Cristian Petrescu showed.
The two high officials also talked during the meeting about the assembly of the WTO Executive Council of June, which Romania, as First Vice Chairman, will preside together with Kenya, the Executive Council's Chairman. The discussion topics also referred to the support that Romania could grant to WTO for the visa regime liberalization, for the consumers' protection in the area of tourism and for the increase in fees, especially for airport services, at the same time with the financial crisis and the governments' attempts of increasing the revenues to the state budgets. Minister Cristian Petrescu promised Romania's support for the WTO initiatives, for solving all these problems, which constitute obstacles in the way of world tourism development.
During the working visit in Spain, Minister Cristian Petrescu, in Madrid, on Wednesday, met Spanish Development Ministry Ana Pastor and Tourism Secretary of State Isabel Borrego Cortes.
WTO is a structure within the United Nations Organization, counts 155 member states, 7 territories and over 400 affiliated members. Romania held the Vice Chairmanship of the Executive Council of WTO in the period 2010-2011 and since October 2011 it has become the First Vice Chairman of the Executive Council.