The siren call of Samos

SOCRATES gives us a stunning view. In the 40 minutes it takes to fly from Athens, our philosophically named plane skims so low over the jigsaw of Aegean islands that we can see their scribbled goat tracks and ragged coastlines.

In the distance, beyond the tracery of cruise ships, the island of Mykonos, known as Greece's party isle, glistens like a mirror ball. It isn't long before we descend towards the hilly outpost of Samos, uniquely shaped like a kangaroo.

Greece aims to be a record breaker

Greek tourism officials are forecasting a record year in terms of tourism as the industry continues to boom across the mainland and its islands.

Speaking to the newspaper Xoni, Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura commented: "The figures for international airline arrivals at Athens airport are constantly touching new highs since the start of the year, with the first six months ending with an increase of 4.4 per cent."

This increase has been led mainly by Brits, who have been booking and traveling to Greece in large numbers. Political changes in Turkey have also allowed Russian visitors to increase. "In the first five months of 2016 alone, arrivals [of Russians] increased by more than 47 per cent compared with the same period in 2015," Kountoura said, who went on to say that most of Greece’s tourism markets were growing.

This is undoubtedly great news for holiday home owners who are looking to rent out properties – and it’s a great time to buy to benefit from the growth in tourism.
Original source: travelpulse.com

Greece is the word!

Following our MD Robin’s visit to Athens last month, the supporting report along with the Fast Track submission fee have now been sent to Nicholas Efstathiadis. As soon as our formal acceptance into Fast Track has been confirmed, which shouldn’t take long, we will let you know.

Talks with a famous worldwide hotel chain continue which could prove wonderful news for our resales and for the resort’s occupancy rates when completed and an LOI has been issued.

In light of the UK Referendum on the 23rd of June and the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, I wish to confirm that Halcyon Hills Luxury Resort and Spa is owned by a Greek company. This means that the resort remains a Euro asset, the resort will still be entitled to the European Union funding and the project remains supported by the Mayor of Samos, Michalis Angelopoulos.

We fully expect in the next newsletter to announce the resorts successful Fast Track entry and the subsequent final steps taken towards construction starting.