The Latvian Health Tourism Cluster has been awarded the European Cluster Excellence Initiative’s Bronze Label Certificate

The certification process took place in September 2018 and ended with a positive outcome, favourable report and analysis of the Latvian Health Tourism Cluster. This attests to the fact that the Latvian Health Tourism Cluster is growing and developing in the right way.

Certification involves an assessment of the cluster governance system and its level of development, which are comparatively assessed in the context of the best industry clusters in Europe. As a result of this evaluation, recommendations were prepared on how to improve its functioning. In a way, this certificate serves as a quality label for the cluster and opens up more extensive opportunities for cluster to cooperate internationally.

“We need to pay attention to certain criticism, weak links in our developmental directions and recommendations so that in 18 months’ time, in the spring of 2020, we can receive the Silver Label Certificate. We will definitely be aiming to achieve this,” says the head of the Latvian health tourism cluster Gunta Ušpele. Bigger financial investments need to be made in research, as well as in the development and introduction of new medical products in Latvia and abroad. In addition, cluster businesses need to collaborate more closely. Therefore, this year we have attracted new Latvian and Estonian startups to the cluster, whose products will be initially integrated and tested in commercial medical institutions and subsequently promoted for integration overseas.