In Attica, groups building hotels for higher income foreign travelers are attracting attention. At least two large Greek groups and one French group are considering new investments for the construction of luxury hotel complexes on the Attic Riviera, as well as in the eastern part of Attica. It is a process that for some is beginning to resemble the development of the coastal front during the decades of the 1950s and 1960s, when at the height of major private investment and the Xenia program the first serious hotels on the coast were built. the shores of the Saronic Sea, which then turned into many international aviation attractions.

The reason for the appearance of Astera in Vouliagmeni, Asteria in Glyfada and Xenia in Lagonisi. This was the time when Poros, Hydra and Spetses also began to measure. But years passed, and gradually the few foreign tourists at that time, the Greek bourgeoisie and not only the upper class, discovered an alternative holiday in Mykonos, Santorini and especially in large hotels in Crete, Rhodes, Corfu and individual complexes, such as Xenia in Skiathos. . Somehow, the 1980s and 1990s passed and we got to the early 2000s, but just before the 2010s arrived, Greek tourism collapsed due to images of violent incidents in the Constitution in December 2008 and the start of the debt crisis. from 2010 onwards, bringing new episodes to the center of Athens. And along with the arrivals, hotel values ​​​​collapsed. It was then that the most astute foreign as well as Greek businessmen saw an opportunity to acquire the iconic sights of the Attic Riviera, such as the Vouliagmeni Star.

Since 2013, Greek tourism has started to recover again, reaching an all-time high in 2019 and climbing even higher this year. The protagonist so far has been the sun and the sea, but over the past five years, Athens has shown itself to be on the city’s holiday map. The Greek brand has become stronger and with it increased demand from higher income travelers. Mainly from markets such as North America and the Persian Gulf, but not only. A demand that is also visible in the increase in charters of large luxury yachts in the Aegean.

But at the moment it is believed that the existing complexes offering services for this type of elite tourism, which wants to combine the city with the sea, are not enough. Existing resorts are counted on the fingers of one hand, while those under construction are counted on the fingers of the other. In action are the Asteras Vouliagmenis, which have gone over to Arab interests, the Grand Resort in Lagonisi, the Divani Apollon Palace in Glyfada, and Cape Sounio at the most southeastern point of Attica. Resorts under development include One & Only Aesthesis at Asteria in Glyfada, which represents a €300 million investment and is expected to open later this year, as well as two new hotels that TEMES will develop in partnership with Lamda Development in Elliniko. , with a budget of about 300 million, but it will take at least another three years to enter the market.

The above, along with other lesser known resorts on the beaches of Attica, i.e. the investment, which collectively exceeds two billion euros, is not only not enough to cover the existing demand for this type of luxury hospitality infrastructure, but is “a drop of infrastructure supply in an ocean of potential travelers who want to visit Greece and spend most of their holidays in Attica,” this is how a Greek hotelier planning to enter this market put it.

The same sources estimate that Attiki could build at least 10 more major luxury resorts, especially as projects and major new infrastructure develop both on the front axles of roads (an extension of Attica Street) and public transport on fixed tracks (the line 4). metro), as well as waste management and other essential infrastructure for tourism. At the same time, Attica now has an excellent airport with ever-improving connections to the other side of the Atlantic and of course to Europe and the Persian Gulf, as well as Asia, opening Attica tourism to very large markets.

As tourism industry sources explain, in the past 10 years, the focus of investments in Attica has been on the center of Athens and mainly on the hospitality of weekend or middle-income visitors. With the exception of units such as the Grand Hyatt in Syngrou and the Athens Capital in Panepistimi, most of the new hotels are more focused on serving the entire market and not just the luxury segment. “This is why, as in other European cities, there is too much space left for short-term rentals, some of which can often cover the demand for luxury housing,” they add.

But Athens has the unique privilege in Europe of being a capital with direct access to the beach. In addition, it has a unique cultural and archaeological reserve and a unique history. Excellent archaeological sites in need of further modernization, and world famous museums such as the Acropolis and the National Archaeological Museum, which, after the completion of the reconstruction-expansion, will become a world landmark. Investors who see great prospects for the development of tourism in Attica want to use these competitive advantages.

As Giorgos Chrysikos, President and CEO of Grivalia Hospitality, which develops One & Only Aesthesis in old Asteria in Glyfada, told Kathimerini tis Kyriaki: 30 million’. And, of course, Athens has no shortage of sights and history, in addition, they are located at a very short distance from the sea.

At the same time, there are very few hotel complexes in Attica that cooperate with large international chains, which in the past few years have been looking for such partnerships, seeing an opportunity.

Since Greek entrepreneurship has already taken the first step, market circles, speaking of the hotels that were planned to be built in Elliniko and the Grivalia Hospitality hotels in Glyfada, as well as in Petalios, located very close to Attica, note that foreign investment interest in such projects is increasing.

In addition, other private Greek interests opposed these prospects, such as the Laskaridis family in a large, long outdated, but historical complex in a cult place in Sounio. At the same time, Israeli interests are entering the market for hotel complexes in the coastal regions of Attica, such as Punta Zesa in Lavrio.

The interest shown in recent years in TAIPED for a large area in the Anavyssos salt marshes, both from a large French hotel group and from Greek interests, is also very great. This is an area of ​​more than 700 acres with access to the beach.

The same reasoning is used in the 6,000-acre leisure and tourism development project on Saronida, with an investment of around 750 million euros, which is included in the strategic investment regime.

Reviving old complexes across Attica, often left abandoned for decades, is the only path investors should follow, bank sources overseeing the process say. Another way, namely the construction of new hotels from scratch, is naturally limited by the availability of suitable land, as well as territorial, urban planning and environmental regulations.

And somewhere here lies the secret of success, but also the risk of the whole process, which has already begun: the development of luxury tourist resorts in Attica must be carried out “with absolute respect for the environment and with a sense of proportion so as not to turn into a new wave of its cementation” – emphasize architectural and environmental circles.