Water is our greatest natural resource, she said, stressing that by 2030 global demand for water will exceed available resources by 40%. She noted that the European Commission has already adopted a strategy for water resilience aimed at improving water management and increasing competitiveness and innovation in European companies. Europe is already a global leader in water technologies. The EU water sector generates EUR 107 billion and provides 1.7 million jobs, Zaharieva added.

The European Commissioner emphasized the importance of natural healing resources and SPA resorts for achieving key European priorities such as health prevention, quality of life, dignified ageing, support for rural areas and sustainable innovation. Instead of treating diseases, it is important to help people stay healthy, Zaharieva said, pointing out that studies show a large proportion of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers are preventable.

She also noted that the life sciences are among the priorities of the European Commission, as they are fundamental to healthcare, food and bioproduct manufacturing, and are of key importance to Europe’s competitiveness. According to her, the EU Life Sciences Strategy aims to accelerate the implementation of innovation and turn Europe into a leader in the sector by 2030.

The event is organized by the European Spas Association (ESPA), the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA) and the Health Tourism Industry (HTI) Conference & Expo – an international platform and event organization focused on the development of health, spa, wellness, and medical tourism. The forum is hosted by the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism and Varna Municipality. HEALTHXCHANGE Summit takes place in the year marking the 20th anniversary of BUBSPA.

BTA is the main media partner of the event. Especially for the forum, BTA has prepared the BG SPA – Health Through Water catalogue featuring news from 128 certified spa, wellness, and medical spa centers in Bulgaria, of which there are over 200 in total. Copies of the specialized publication in Bulgarian and English will be provided to forum delegates. The catalog is available on the BTA website in electronic format in Bulgarian and in English.