Healing in Hungary – Health Industry Programme
Health industry includes therapeutic, preventive and rehabilitation services, the supporting and background sectors, as well as the underlying researches, and the manufacturing and marketing of products related to health conscious lifestyle. This is one of the most promising sectors among the break-out points.
Its importance is determined by its connections to nearly all areas of
the economy, the favourable natural conditions, the accumulated
intellectual capital and the increasingly open international market.
Development of medical and thermal spa tourism was already one of the
most successful parts in the tourism development programme of the first
Széchenyi Plan.
Health industry is in line with all national economy priorities, since
it has highly innovative and research-intensive areas, significant and
partly yet unutilised opportunities on foreign markets, as well as a
serious workforce base that can be further expanded. Development and
priority handling of the health industry can have a beneficial effect on
reaching a large consensus necessary for the indispensable reform of
the provisioning and financing systems of health care burdened by
several problems.
The health industry will be able to serve as a break-out point if there
is appropriate, effective demand for its products and services. In this
regard foreign and domestic demand both have to be accounted for, as
proved by former health tourism developments.