Photo caption: From left: Luciano Scarfone, Investment Director, Pygmalion Capital – Elie Milky, Chief Development Officer Greece, Cyprus, MENA, Radisson Hotel Group – Vasilis Themelidis, Regional Director South & East Europe Wyndham Hotels & Resorts – Hilda Alyssandratou, Director Investment Promotion, Enterprise Greece – Kostas Panagakis, Principal, Travelworks. (Photo: Aphroditi Houlaki)
Greece has dynamically entered the radar of international tourist real estate giants, with dozens of projects already implemented and many more in progress, as highlighted in the discussion held within the framework of Prodexpo 2015.
It is recalled that Tornos News, this morning, reported the plans of the Radisson Hotel Group for the new hotels that will open in Athens (two of them), Peloponnese, Paros and Evia.
The other representatives of international hotel groups reported at the same conference event:
** The significant opportunities presented by the Greek market were highlighted by Mr. Luciano Scarfone, Investment Director, Pygmalion Capital, who stated: “After the success in Spain and Italy, Greece is the next step”. “The Greek market is fragmented in terms of ownership, and this is one of the most attractive features for us”, he noted. As he explained later, Pygmalion’s strategy focuses on opportunities with a ticket size of 20 to 100 million euros, where the price and the possibility of exploitation through CAPEX can create value for investors. At the same time, Mr. Scarfone referred to the importance of the right brand. “The key to investments in Greece is the strong demand from abroad and the fragmentation of ownership”, he emphasized.
** Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ plans to expand further into secondary residences were revealed by Mr. Vasilis Themelidis, Regional Director South & East Europe, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, who stated: “We are looking at various destinations”, while continuing that a project is being planned in the northern part of Greece, due to its proximity to the Balkans, which will essentially follow the successful example of the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Thraki in Alexandroupoli. “There is a high demand for Greece, as is the case for other mature destinations. What we are looking at is the international accessibility of the destinations”, he said.
Mr. Themelidis also referred to the company’s entry into the rental housing market, a market that, as he emphasized, until recently was associated with luxury, but now shows demand for upgraded products from a wider audience. The first projects were implemented in Athens and Piraeus, followed by Halkidiki. “We are bullish on this type of housing. Our goal is to bring our expertise and internationally recognized brand to this new market,” noted Mr. Themelidis.
** Foreign investors’ interest in Greece is growing, assured Ms. Hilda Alyssandratou, Director of Investment Promotion, Enterprise Greece. “There is investment momentum and foreign investors’ appetite for projects in Greece is increasing,” she said, adding that Greece’s unique characteristics, such as history, heritage and natural beauty, are combined with the improvement of macroeconomic indicators and the investment climate, which acts as an “investment magnet.”
As she explained, Enterprise Greece works closely with interested investors, helping them assess the risk and understand the country’s regulatory and investment environment. An important tool is the Fast Track investment program, which provides incentives for large projects with a significant impact on the Greek economy.
