Greece is offering up new investment opportunities as it seeks to pivot from purely being a place to take a holiday to a “lifestyle destination”.
Speaking at the 2025 R&R Hospitality Forum in Athens, Greece, Enterprise Greece CEO Marinos Giannopoulos said tourism currently accounts for around 20 per cent of the country’s GDP while it is one of the top 10 destinations in the world.
And while it will continue to grow its tourism offering, he added the destination has ambitions to offer longer term stays and grow its business capabilities in order to have an all-round proposition available to entice any global nomad.
Giannopoulos said: “The future will lie in creating destinations that blend lifestyle, leisure and innovation, whether it be through family resorts, luxury hotels or mixed-use properties, branded residence or new hybrid accommodation models. It requires reimagining the hospitality and identifying new opportunity trends.
“At the same time, Greece is also positioning itself as a lifestyle destination, suitable both for longer-term stays and a business hub for the region and that means Greece is not just for travellers. It offers vast potential; here is where you guys come in, in investment in different areas.”
Investment opportunities
Giannopoulos added there are three areas of investment available in Greece for the future with the first being for luxury resorts, branded residences, and retirement villages.
The second investment avenue leads to leisure activities including marinas, golf clubs, wellness spas, and destinations while the third involves complex tourist facilities that span all the range of visitors, from families to high-net-worth individuals.
He said any investments would be supported by Enterprise Greece while the national government continues to nurture the tourism sector with tax breaks, grants, subsidies and ongoing support for public works and infrastructure.
Alexandros Vassilikos, who is President of Europe’s hospitality association HOTREC and President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, agreed that there are numerous investment opportunities in Greece for those with the money to spend.
But he added any future projects will not only need to fit in with Greece’s current accommodation landscape but also take account its ongoing move into the responsible travel realm.
Vassilikos said: “We’ve had a big rise of investments, of transformation of hotels, of raising in categories and going to upper categories.
“We still have, of course, a big majority of hotels that belong to smaller categories that are small, family-run, we like to call them SMEs.
“They’re more like small and very small company enterprises, but they are the backbone of Greek hospitality and they need to be here as well. There is room for everyone.
“These investments, whether big or small, need to be sustainable and need to be inclusive – inclusive in many ways, of course, and mainly in including the local society. And this is a strength of Greek hospitality.”
He also spoke about the power of collaboration in the sector, adding: “Everybody has something to put on the table, whether it’s local knowledge or international know-how.”
Back in black
Giannopoulos added the new investment opportunities have come at a time when Greece’s travel industry is booming a following more than a decade’s worth of rebuilding the country’s economy following its financial crash in 2009.
He said: “Over the last 10 years, Greece has undertaken a remarkable transformation. The country has consolidated its position to a stable and attractive investment destination, reflecting the transformation of the Greek economy.
“Its economic reforms and its improved public finances make Greece one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and its seen record foreign direct investment, record exports and record tourism inflows.”
Giannopoulos said tourism numbers for 2025 have grown by about 5 per cent while travel receipts are up by about 12 per cent.
Property potential
He added in the last five years there have been 450 new four and five-star hotels built with a further 244 three-star properties opening over the same period. Following this growth, Greece saw the biggest growth in hotel transactions in Europe in 2024 with a 294 per cent increase year on year.
Despite this growth, which means Greece’s 10,000 hotels now offer about 900,000 beds, Giannopoulos said it had been outpaced by the growth in the number of short term rentals available with 1.1 million beds available over the 2025 peak season.
The increase in accommodation has been matched by growing aviation route development, with the country now offering 35 per cent more international connections than before the pandemic.
Foreign investors are also taking note of the Greece’s improved situation and numerous opportunities with $5.6 billion of FDI made to the country in 2024.
