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East European countries: Greece, Cyprus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, largest beneficiaries from summer holiday seasons

Vacations, especially summer holidays, have become the focus of attention for real estate developers, especially those with luxury real estate projects. Targeting this segment of tourists has become an integral part of the marketing campaigns launched by many companies and real estate brokers.

On the other hand, many businessmen and investors take advantage of these holidays and vacations to seize investment opportunities, be it a real estate or non-real estate.

In this regard, the weekly real estate report of Al Mazaya Holding Company said that summer holidays have become the main driver for many economic sectors in a large number of countries in Asia, Europe and America. They get fully geared for this period, being a key source of investments and cash flows, with a number of new markets witnessing large waves of tourist, residential and commercial real estate investments every year, backed by flexible real estate laws.

Al Mazaya Weekly report pointed out that new investment trends in Eastern Europe in recent years, led by Greece, Cyprus and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are intensifying due to the decline in real estate prices and the desire of investors from many countries, including the GCC to benefit from depreciation of their local currencies versus US dollar pegs. This is in addition to the diversification plans, good investment opportunities, and the prospects of achieving high capital gains in the future, ranging from 20% to 30%, depending on location and quality of the real estate.

It is worth mentioning here that countries with a convenient environment, halal food products, customs & traditions familiar to the Arab societies as well as historical attractions, are the most in-demand among those seeking tourist destinations from the Gulf region.

Al Mazaya report pointed to the investment momentum witnessed across East European countries as a result of the growing demand for homeownership by end-users and investors alike. The report highlighted in specific the investments led by sovereign funds which over the past decades focused on commercial real estate in Europe and Britain in particular.

It forecasts that Gulf investments in Europe will continue in the coming period and that restructuring these investments, especially those in Britain, will continue in order to maintain their stable values with good returns away from economic and political turmoil. In this regard, the report highlighted the fact that London properties are still considered the most important destination for commercial real estate investments for investors coming from the Gulf region. Therefore, the Brexit will negatively affect these existing investments and cause investors to search for similar markets and investments away from the uncertainty looming over the UK market real estate. In contrast, the geopolitical situation in the region pushes investors to look for other business opportunities outside the region and invest in other safe havens and income-generating assets

Al Mazaya Holding highlighted how important Gulf tourists are for European countries which are doing their best to woo big-pocket Gulf tourists whose high-spending capabilities exceed those coming from other countries in this region. For example, Switzerland, the most popular destination for travel enthusiasts, is making more efforts to promote tourism in the Gulf region, said the report, pointing out that Gulf tourists spend more than the average world tourist rate by 6.5 times. France and Britain are outpacing others in attracting Gulf tourists, followed by Turkey, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Bosnia and Greece.

The weekly report confirmed that tourist spending reached about $67 billion at the end of 2017 compared to $40 billion at the end of 2010, which confirms the growth of foreign tourism. This would lead to a tourism revolution in Europe in order to take advantage of these large and extraordinary influxes, taking into consideration the fact that travellers from the region are predominantly young people with good knowledge of technology, which makes it easier for European nations to deal efficiently with this segment of travellers.

Al Mazaya noted that many markets continue to grow and attract tourists from all over the world, with demand growing for Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Turkey, Paris and Rome this summer. With every trip recorded abroad, the tourism and real estate sector will be at the forefront of the beneficiaries of this great momentum within a short period of time. This means that world countries are increasingly vying for travellers from the Gulf region over the short and medium terms.

With every preferred destination for travellers from the region, there is an investment opportunity, be it real estate, tourism or business. Therefore, markets and destinations that enjoy the highest level of luxury, moderate prices and flexible laws will be able to secure guest loyalty and investments over the medium and long terms.