Greece Still Attractive for Tourism Investments Despite Covid-19, Say Experts

Greece remains an attractive option for investors seeking opportunities in tourism, despite the impact that the COVID-19 health crisis has had on the country’s travel industry.

Real estate experts agreed on Friday that Greece is considered a “safe tourism destination”, considering that is has managed to successfully handle the coronavirus pandemic. The country recently entered its first stage in easing a nationwide lockdown and is currently working on the second phase of measures that include the lift of travel restrictions and the opening of hotels.

According to Cushman & Wakefield Proprius CEO Nicky Simbouras, Greece will continue to attract investments.

“We expect business transactions to significantly decrease over the next few months as investors re-evaluate the market but investment activity will resume by year-end,” she said during the Prodexpo Virtual online event.

“There are still investors interested in the Greek hospitality sector despite these challenging times…. Greece was and remains one the main markets for investments in sea resorts along with Portugal, Spain and Italy,” she added.

Cushman & Wakefield Proprius recently advised Technical Olympic on the sale of Halkidiki’s Porto Carras Grand Resort to Belterra Investments for 205 million euros. The two sides have reached an agreement in principle.

Meanwhile, Hines Greece Managing Director Paul Gomopoulos expects the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of hotels to severely affect the tourism industry and the flow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the next months for two reasons:

– foreign investment funds consider Greece as a “non-core country” and the Covid-19 pandemic has affected their intention to invest in the market, and

– foreign real estate investors are mostly interested in hospitality properties – a sector that has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hines Greece is actively pursuing opportunities for both development and acquisitions. Its team is exploring all sectors including office, retail and hospitality projects on behalf of the Hines firm and other capital sources.

Gomopoulos said that the company plans to retain its current strategy for Greece. “It was our choice to establish a permanent platform in Greece. We will stay and seek for new opportunities that the new reality brings,” he said.

Titled “The COVID-19 Diaries – Tourism: Plans for the next day”, the Prodexpo Virtual event was organized by Tsomokos Digital.