Turizam je jedan od najvažnijih pokretača razvoja gospodarstva, kako u pojedinim državama svijeta tako i u Hrvatskoj. Zdravstveni turizam jedan je od najbrže rastućih turističkih proizvoda koji bilježi godišnji rast od 15 do 20 %, uvjetovan je demografskim, sociološkim i kulturološkim uvjetima života u Europi i svijetu, a očekuje se da će do 2030. godine postati jedan od najvećih pokretača turističkih putovanja. Republika Hrvatska je turistička zemlja, a sve je više turista koji koriste upravo usluge zdravstvenog turizma. Zdravstveni turizam jedan je od strateških razvojnih ciljeva turizma i zdravstva. Kada se govori o zdravstvenom turizmu, govori se o tržištu koje iz godine u godinu raste i ne bilježi negativne trendove čak ni u godinama recesije. Sve to dodatno potvrđuje činjenicu koliko je zdravstveni turizam važan i od kolike je važnosti neprekidno i kontinuirano ulagati u unapređenje, razvijanje i podizanje kvalitete zdravstvenog turizma u Republici Hrvatskoj. U Krapinsko-zagorskoj županiji turisti još uvijek relativno kratko borave, što bi se moglo objasniti nedostatkom ponude i popratnih sadržaja te nedovoljnom sinkroniziranošću turističkog i zdravstvenog sektora. Navedene činjenice predstavljale su istraživački problem. Kvalitativno istraživanje provedeno je na uzorku od 5 ispitanika metodom dubinskih intervjua. Uz navedeno se koristila stručna i znanstvena literatura koja pokriva područje zdravstvenog turizma, uz što su istraženi i primjeri dobre prakse zemalja u okruženju. Predmet istraživanja bile su turističke zajednice i toplice u Krapinsko – zagorskoj županiji, te pronalaženje uzroka u nedostacima ponude i popratnih sadržaja.

Tourism is one of the most important drivers of economic development in many countries around the world and so too in Croatia. Health tourism is one of the fastest growing tourist products that records annual growth of 15 do 20 % dependent on the demographic, sociological and cultural conditions of life in Europe and around the world. It is expected that by 2030 this will become the largest driver of tourist travel. The Republic of Croatia is a tourist country and more and more tourists are using the services of health tourism. Health tourism is one of the strategic development goals of tourism and health. Hhealth tourism is a market that year after year increases and doesn’t record negative trends even in years of recession. All this further confirms the fact of how important medical tourism is and how important it is to constantly and continuously invest in the promotion, development and raising the quality of health tourism in Croatia. In Krapina-Zagorje County, tourists still stay for a relatively short period of time, which could be explained by the lack of tourist offers and supporting facilities and also a lack of synchronicity between the tourism and health sectors. A research problem has arisen from the mentioned facts. A qualitative survey was conducted on a sample of 5 respondents by the method of in-depth interviews. Additionally, professional and scientific literature covering the field of health tourism was used, as well as examples of good practice in surrounding countries. The subject of the research was the tourist boards and spas in Krapina-Zagorje County, and the finding of causes in the lack of offers and accompanying facilities, with the specialization and cooperation of centers and institutions in Krapina-Zagorje County. Keywords: health tourism, county of Krapina-Zagorje, cooperation of institutions, raising the level of quality.