International hotel chains such as Starwood, Hilton, InterContinental, Marriott, Wyndham Grand and Four Seasons are investing into the Greek hotel business.
According to insiders, the recent successful completion of the sale of the iconic Astir Palace and Athens Hilton seem to generate a new “fair wind” for tourism industry investment in the Greek capital, which has seen around 90 hotels default during the last few years.
The two major business deals have already been presented favorably by the international media and are expected to stimulate further investment interest in the Greek tourism sector, taking also into account that the aforementioned hotels will be managed by internationally acclaimed hotel management chains.
Overall tourist profile upgrade
The same sources indicate that Mandarin Oriental is very close to an agreement with the new owners of Athens Hilton while the buyers of Astir Palace tend to favor the Four Seasons.
If these internationally acclaimed hotel management chains indeed undertake the operation of the two emblematic units in Athens and its Riviera, a very strong attraction pole for luxury travel will be created, upgrading the overall tourist profile of Greece’s capital and the wider Attica area.
Furthermore, the National Parliament is expected to ratify the contract of Greek government with Lamda Development, for the development of the Helliniko area, the largest tourist investment project in the Mediterranean. The finalization of this project will also upgrade the standards of the hospitality industry in Athens as well as the surrounding areas.
Hotel units up for sale
In the meanwhile, Alpha Bank will launch another auction attempt on December 7 for the sale of the 314-room Athens Ledra, which declared bankruptcy on May 31.
Two major hotel chains, Wyndham and Marriott, are also expected to relaunch the former Imperial and Metropolitan Chandris hotels respectively by the spring of 2017, and Ritz Carlton is also seeking hotels or properties in central Athens suitable to become accommodation facilities, without having located something concrete yet.
La Mirage on Omonia Square and Kannigos 21 on Kannigos Square are also among other hotel units that will be up for sale within the next two months along with several other central Athenian properties.
A “fair wind” seems indeed to be blowing for tourism investments in Athens.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
