NEW YORK – On December 8, the 27th Annual Capital Link Invest in Greece Forum took place at the Metropolitan Club on Manhattan’s renowned Fifth Avenue.
Held under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in New York, the successful Forum drew more than 1000 people together including top U.S. and international investors, global and Greek companies, global investment banks and institutions, high-ranking government officials from Greece and the U.S., including the Deputy Prime Minister of the Greek Government, Kostis Hatzidakis, and four Greek Ministers.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his opening remarks via webcast: “As 2025 draws to a close, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on the state of our economy and its prospects for the New Year.”
“Greece continues its progress, transforming itself into an increasingly attractive investment destination,” Mitsotakis noted. “Our country offers high growth opportunities as manifested by market outcomes for all Greek asset classes, offers sound fiscal fundamentals, a clear geopolitical orientation, and of course, the very important factor of political stability.”
“There are excellent investment opportunities in multiple sectors, traditional ones such as tourism, logistics, infrastructure and agri-food, to new ones such as energy manufacturing, life sciences and, of course, technology,” the Prime Minister said. “We attract rising volumes of FDI and financial investment, confirming Greece’s spectacular turnaround from crisis to recovery and increasing prosperity.”
Known as an annual international summit focused on Greece, Capital Link Invest in Greece aims to promote Greece, and serves as a key platform to foster international dialogue and investment opportunities, whilst also enabling networking and opportunities to discuss critical matters with Greek and U.S. professionals one-on-one.
As the longest-running event of its kind, it featured a series of panel discussions which covered various sectors of the Greek economy, including economic trends, banking, the stock market, real estate, tourism, hospitality, shipping, energy and more.
Some of the highlights of the event included dynamic discussions from panelists, moderators, and keynote speakers regarding real estate and tourism in Greece.
The Greek Real Estate Market
One of the key panel discussions that presented great insight into Greece in terms of property, was the Greek Real Estate Marked: Prospects for Future Growth and Investments conversations.
It was led by Thesis Law’s Founding and Managing Partner Kloy Tsiaga, who addressed critical questions to the panelists, Dika Agapitidou, Dimitris Andriopoulos, Dimitris Manoussakis and Angeliki Touziou, who shared their insights.
In her speech, the founder and director of Athens Economics Ltd – JLL Alliance Partner Dika Agapitidou highlighted various key points, including three reasons as to why Greece is an attractive country for investing in real estate.
“First of all, the economy has turned around following the long eight-year or nine-year financial crisis and has proved to be very resilient throughout the COVID lockdowns. Cautiousness followed, but still the economy was very resilient and bounced back,” Agapitidou said.
“Secondly, it’s the political stability which, combined with a business-friendly environment, facilitates important investments. And third, last but not least is the major EU funding instruments we have such as the RRF, (the Resilience and Recovery Fund) which has already been mentioned by other analysts earlier today.”
Dimitri Manoussakis, the managing partner and founder of Kentriki – Savills Greece described investments in real estate in Greece as very important as they are “one of the core sectors.”
“It offers primarily stabilized assets, and as the situation stands at the moment, the Greek office market offers a combination which is exceptional for the Greek market conditions,” Manoussakis said.
“[Investments in real estate] offer continuous rental growth and very competitive yields, which offer higher and better returns to foreign investors who have decided to invest in Greece seven or eight years ago.”
He added how prices in the office sector have gone up by almost 5% “year on year” and concluded: “Greece can offer a very good return to investors who will decide to go for stabilized assets.”
Tourism in Greece
At midday, the Forum continued with panel discussions, this time, surrounding the importance of tourism in Greece and its impact on the economy, with a key presentation titled ‘Tourism — A Thriving Sector of the Greek Economy: Investment Opportunities and Current Trends’.
It began with an address from the keynote speaker, Minister of Tourism of Greece Olga Kefalogianni.
She began by stating how “Greece today is recognized as a success story, the result of a consistent economic policy, restored credibility, and growth rates that outpace the Eurozone average.”
“The tourism sector is a vital pillar of the Greek economy and continues to drive our nation forward with exceptional resilience,” Kefalogianni said.
“Over recent years, we’ve witnessed the full expression of the sector’s strength, creativity, and adaptability. Greece now ranks among the top 10 most-visited travel destinations in the whole world. In 2024 our country welcomed over 40 million visitors, including cruise passengers.”
“Tourism receipts reached an all-time high of $21.6 billion euros, marking the second consecutive record, and this positive trajectory continues to gain strength.”
Kefalogianni continued: “We have also welcomed a record number of visitors during the winter and so-called shorter months, which is clear, increasing evidence that travelers seek experiences across the country and well beyond the peak season — which is the summer. These figures reflect a growing appreciation for recent greatness, diversity, and authenticity, they’re also the outcome of a well elaborated tourism policy and the dedication of our people, our businesses, and our communities. “
She said looking ahead, the Ministry of Tourism aims to build a sustainable, resilient, and competitive tourism model that expands economic opportunities in Greece.
“Our goal is qualitative growth, the three fundamental goals of our strategy include, first of all, enriching our tourism offering, secondly, highlighting lesser known, than equally capitalist destinations, and thirdly, extending travel throughout the year and across every region of our country,” the Greek Minister of Tourism said.
“We aim to highlight Greece’s unique identity and ensure that the visitors enjoy diverse, meaningful and unforgettable experiences.”
Following Kefalogianni’s address, a panel discussion took place with moderator and Koutalidis Law Firm partner Yiannis Kantas and panelists Yiannis Paraschis, the CEO of Athens International Airport; Ioannis Orfanos, the Partner and Head of Capital Markets at Colliers Greece and Cyprus; and Andreas Fiorentinos, the Secretary General of the Greek National Tourism Organization.
Fiorentinos discussed how Artificial Intelligence is one of the challenges tourism faces, however, he reassured that despite it being unfamiliar, Greece is adapting “really quick” and using new technology to its advantage.
“In the years of COVID, for instance, Greece remained open to the U.S. market, and remained open through an application that the Prime Minister envisioned and his team application with a barcode that will tell you about your condition at the moment and will allow you to be able to treat it or travel — that really kept Greece in the game,” Fiorentinos explained.
“Supporting the airlines was another initiative, but today we have 103 weekly flights in Greece, and the reason is because we were able to utilize new technology to achieve our goals. So, it is very important now to go ahead with artificial intelligence and make the procedure and the experience of the tourists much more friendly than in the past.
