Tourism developments drive real estate investments in Greece despite recent capital controls crisis

The Greek Real Estate Market is showing signs of activity mainly driven by tourism investment. While privatizations of Astir Vouliagmeni and the Ellinikon real estate project have been delayed for many months, private investors progress opportunities in high end tourism segment on the back of a 20% growth for second consecutive year in incoming visitors.

Despite the economic crisis and the recently applied capital controls, over €4 billion of new hotel investments are being planned, mostly in the four and five star categories, citing that more than two dozen hotel projects stretching from Corfu to Crete are on the drawing boards. About half of those projects are being financed by international private companies.

The demand for hotel properties has increased during the last two years, with the suburbs of Athens, the region of Khalkidhiki in Macedonia, the island of Crete and the Peloponnese being among the most popular areas.

Amongst other hotel & resort investments, the following three large intergrated tourism developments are making progress:

• Kilada Hills: 418 mln euros golf resort in Eastern Peloponnese

A tourism investment by international resort investor/developer Dolphin Capital has received Council of State’s (“ΣτΕ”) approval for the project’ s special zoning plan. All that is left now is the issue of the building permit for the development in the region of Ermionida, in the eastern Peloponnese.

The luxury resort will comprise over 150 houses & villas, a 100 room hotel, a beach club and a golf course. This new complex which shall be part of Doplhin’s Porto Heli Collection group consitutes an investment totaling 418 million euros, to be developed across a plot of over 200 hectares. The investment has gone through the fast-track investment approval process as it is considered to be of strategic importance. 

Dolphin is also planning a 60 million euro resort in Kea island close to Athens as part of the group’s Aman resort portfolio. 

• Costa Navarino invests 240 mln euros for two new hotels

TEMES SA forwards its plan for new investments at its Costa Navarino resort in the southwestern Peloponnese. It provides for two new hotels, a 36-hole golf course and luxury tourism accommodation. The investments are set to exceed 240 million euros. 

International flights at nearby Kalamata Airport rose from 40 in 2009 to 1.000 last year, with 13.5 percent staying at Costa Navarino and the rest at other local hotels, evidence of the area’ s boosted destination image.

• 80 mln euros tourism project in Kalamata – Messinia

A complex tourism project, by Grace Hotels in the region of southern Greece, has received the go-ahead by the municipality following examination of its environmental effects.

The development that will be located along the sandy Velikas beach, includes a 266-bed, five-star hotel, luxury residential villas as well as a thalassotherapy center, health spa, conference center, wastewater treatment plant, restaurants, bars, water sports and clildren’s facilities. It is set to open in 2017.

Located approximately 20km west of Kalamata, the resort will be served by the Kalamata International Airport and via national roadway.