Session #3:
Where Is the Evidence? What Certain Market Segments Understand & Expect?
Ali Ghamman 
President, Observatoire du Tourisme Morocco (Morocco)
Ali Ghannam is a Doctor of Economics and Business Management. He has held several positions of responsibility in large groups and investment funds and managed several hotel establishments. He is the past president of the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT) and the National Federation of the Hotel Industry (FNIH) in Morocco.
Currently, Ali Ghannam is a Tourism Consultant and President of the Moroccan Tourism Observatory, as well as a Tourism Expert and Affiliate Member of UN Tourism. He is also a member of the Moroccan Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) and other think tanks and associations in Morocco and abroad.
Alina Huseynli 
Director, Institute of Spa and Balneology Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic)
Alina is the Director and Board Member of the Institute of Spa and Balneology, the first and only public research institution in the Karlovy Vary region (Czech Republic). With a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies and an MBA in Healthcare Management, she is currently completing her doctoral studies in Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Preventive Medicine at Charles University, focusing on the role of spa care in preventing and treating lifestyle diseases.
As the author of the ‘Spa Research Centre’ project, she successfully secured substantial funding from the Just Transition Fund, supporting groundbreaking research in balneology.
Beyond her research, she is a passionate advocate and frequent speaker at international conferences and congresses, dedicated to promoting the scientific and medical importance of spa care in modern healthcare.
Dr. Eva Ruzicska 
Head Physician, Ensana Health Spas
Eva Ruzicska MD, PhD is an experienced clinician with more than 15 years of demonstrated history of rheumatology consultation both in outpatient and hospital settings. She has strong scientific background with a PhD in medicine and experiences in world-class academic, clinical and pharmaceutical organizations. She also has extensive experience in innovative pharmaceutical industry medical affairs – product launch, developing new products and clinical research. She also has a specialisation in psychotherapy.
She has been working as the Head Physician of Ensana Health Spa Hotels in Hungary since 2023.
Dr. med Janka Zálešáková 
President, Slovak Spa Association (Slovakia)
Her whole working career Dr. med. Janka Zálešáková connected with balneology – as medical doctor, researcher, lecturer for medical specialisation Physiatry Balneology and Rehabilitation, top manager of a big spa company, international expert for evaluation of natural healing resources and climatic conditions suitable for climatic therapy.
From 2004 to 2008 she was President of European Spas Association (ESPA). Now she is President of Slovak Spas Association, Vice-chairwomen of State Spa Commission in Ministry of Health and Vice-president of ESPA.
Dr. med. Janka Zálešáková is an author and co-author of many publications linked with balneotherapy and climatic therapy and quality standards for medical spas.
Her professional interest is in international cooperation focused on new spa programs respecting the health status of the population and needs of modern medicine.
Csilla Mezősi 
Secretary General, European Spas Association (ESPA)
Since 2000 she has been involved in the activities of ESPA, by 2002 she became a member of the Board and from 2018 she is the Secretary General.
During her career, Csilla Mezősi has been involved in strategic project management on behalf of urban and national government administrations to develop projects in the Health Tourism sector. She worked more than 20 years in the German tourism industry focusing on destination promotion.
Ms. Mezősi has a broad experience ranging from B2B and B2C sales activities to international PR, event organization, management consultancy, Spa development, cross marketing companies and medical tourism promotion. She also developed contacts between providers and health insurances.
As Secretary General, she is active in cooperations with EU Policies, stakeholder groups DG Sante, Tourism and Sport, in the Tourism Manifesto Group, opening activities and cooperations in the overseas market and exchanging expertise with the UNWTO in the fields of health and spa tourism.
