Greece boasts five international standard golf courses and the perfect climate for the sport

Changes in land laws will be a catalyst for tourism projects
New legislation will facilitate the development of large-scale resorts centred on alternative forms of tourism while preserving the environment

Billions of dollars worth of investment are set to pour into Greece’s tourism sector in the form of large-scale integrated resort projects, combining leisure activities such as golf and tennis with spas, 5-star hotels and luxury villas.

Changes in land zoning policies that have limited residential development outside urban areas will pave the way for alternative forms of tourism and open up the market for holiday and retirement homes. Stavros Andreadis, president of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE), says the move could be “a catalyst for tourism development”.

A number of projects are in the pipeline, and two major developments are already under way. Both the Navarino resorts project, on the Messinian Peninsula in the Peloponnese and the resort being built on the island of Crete by the British Minoan Group will include 5-star hotels, golf courses, conference centres and luxury villas.
Golf tourism is seen as potentially a major earner for Greece; golfers, for example, are reckoned to spend 60 per cent more than the average tourist. However, accompanying hotel and residential development is needed to make new golf courses commercially viable.

Approximately one hundred miles to the north of Athens, a location has been chosen for one of the largest luxury residential and integrated resort developments in Europe. Developers Lokros Real Estate, in partnership with investment fund management firm Europa Capital and Greek company Prufrock Investments, say the Atalanti resort will combine world-class golf and tennis facilities with luxury villas and townhouses in an unspoiled natural environment.

According to Managing Principal George Savvides, the resort will be a unique place to visit, holiday and to live, “the best of all worlds – international standard luxury, service and infrastructure, combined with genuine Greek community experiences, tastes and hospitality.”

George Savvides Managing Principal of Lokros Real Estate	Nicholas Mamakos Managing Principal of Lokros Real Estate

He says the development will include three of the best championship golf courses in the world, extensive tennis facilities, including ‘centre court’ stadiums, and golf and tennis academies. “The facilities will be world-class as it is our intention that the resort should host major international golf and tennis tournaments.” At the same time, the intention is to provide for players of all levels, from novices to professionals.

The residential element of the project will comprise approximately 5,000 luxury residential units, ranging from large detached villas with extensive grounds to townhouses clustered around village squares. Both freehold properties and time-share units will be available. In addition, there will be three 5-star hotels, an open amphitheatre seating 700, three spas and cultural centres.

The resort will extend over more than 3,000 acres, but infringement on the natural landscape will be “minimal”, according to Mr Savvides’s partner Nicholas Mamakos. The objective is to combine a low-density resort and luxury residential village environment with the natural beauty of the area.

“The residential and tourist communities will not only be surrounded by the existing rich natural environment, but will also be laced with vineyards, olive groves, herbs and spice gardens,” says Mr Mamakos. “In many ways agriculture and nature will define the development as it does the agricultural community in which it is located,”

Mr Savvides says that Greece is ideal for projects of this kind. “We believe that developments like the Minoan project, the Navarino project and ours set a new quality standard in the Greek market,” he says. “They attract a wider variety of visitors, they extend the tourism period, they promote Greek culture and tradition, and they preserve the natural environment.”