New Investments Spurred by Record Tourist Arrivals

According to Mr Andreadis the numbers that will be achieved this year were projected for four years in the future. In light of this it was noted that investments in the sector have to move at a faster pace, to the tune of 24 billion euros. Of these 21 billion will come from private investments and 3 billion euros from the state, or EU funds available to the state.
There is a necessity for investment in regional airports, some of which at this point have reached the limit, or exceeded capacity. So far SETE has revised upwardly the number of expected tourist arrivals by air from 18.5 million to 19 million. The data comes from the annual flight program of the National Flight Coordination Authority initiated by newly established SETE intelligence.

SETE foresees that Athens will receive 750,000 more tourists than last year, which is indicative of the rising dynamics of the capital.

SETE also re-evaluated the number of tourists from Russia, to 5% less than originally estimated . At the beginning of the year the number of flight/seats estimated from Moscow and St Petersburg was around 2 million. SETE expects that tourists from the Ukraine will be 50% less than earlier projections and Ukraine. However, the gaps from these two countries are more than compensated for by the strong demand from other markets. For example, tourists from Germany are expected to reach the 2006 high, when they topped 2.8 million euros.
SETE estimates that 21.2 million tourists will visit Greece this year including 2.2 million expected to dock with cruiseships.

Mr Andreadis noted that the number of cruise visitors will be around the same as last year. As noted, cruise providers have limited their scheduled routes to Greece and nearby destinations, but have earmarked larger ships. The curtailment is due to the problems faced at other destinations in the eastern Mediterranean like Egypt and Syria. However, cruise firms are expected to increase routes next year, as the SETE president noted there will be a notable increase in cruise borne tourism starting in 2015.

The assessment is that by 202, Greece may garner 19 billion euros in direct proceeds from tourism as against 13 billion euros expected this year, which SETE believes will create 300,000 new jobs, with a total of one million positions in the sector. To achieve this and lure higher income tourists, SETE believes a number of preconditions must be met to make investment in tourism attractive.

Primary among such preconditions, according to SETE, is the rationalization of taxation for sector enterprises for at least five years. The organization also wants faster justice, the finalization of a cadastre and town planning, the strategy to revamp the center and coastal areas of tourism destinations starting from Athens, the restoration of liquidity in sector enterprises and the completion of an investment law that will include medical and marine tourism. At the same time SETE believes that stronger incentives should be given to high level investors from third countries, like China and Russia so they can consider buying holiday homes in Greece.

Despite delays and bureaucratic snags , Greece remains high on the list of desired investments by foreign and domestic investors. According to the ministry of tourism, at this moment there is interest for about 5 billion euros worth of investments, most for the creation of tourism complexes. At this moment the process for licensing for large complexes that include ancillary venues like golf courses, conference centers, spas, diving centers, etc, at Atalanti, Chalkidiki, Crete, Milos, Ios, Thasos, Messinia, Porto Heli, and elsewhere.

The Athens hotel market is also picking up after a rough patch over the last five years, because of the crisis and the degradation of the city center that saw 90 hotels shut down. Already some have re-opened while there is increasing interest in hotels that recently stopped operations in Omonia and Karaiskaki squares and Stadiou streets, while a new luxury hotel is being planned in the Syntagma area the building of a boutique hotel on Dionysiou Aeropagitou street.