Tourism investments: licensing timelines and work suspensions take centre stage at Prodexpo 2026

October 15, 2026 – Athens, Greece

Licensing procedures and the protection of the natural environment were at the centre of two discussions on the future of tourism investment and the value of international hotel brands, held as part of Prodexpo 2026 at the Athens Conservatoire.

A spatial framework closer to today's reality

Petros Varelidis, Secretary General for Natural Environment and Water at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, described the completion of the new Special Spatial Framework for Tourism as necessary, following the annulment of the previous one by the Council of State. "I think it was a pending issue that needed to be closed in order to have a spatial framework that is much closer to the current situation," he stressed.

Linking spatial policy to infrastructure, he noted: "There is available infrastructure, first of all water, and when we talk about carrying capacity, this actually relates to available infrastructure. If you have more infrastructure, you have greater carrying capacity. If you don't, you have less."

When a permit is not a guarantee

Antonis Iliopoulos, Chairman and CEO of Empiria Group, described the difficulties investors face even after securing the required approvals. "This licensing often does not guarantee that you can complete the investment you have started," he said, adding: "The Ministry may suddenly decide to suspend works on an investment that is under way. And while it is at 30, 50, 70%, the suspension of works can happen, without the investor or the contractor having broken the law or committed any irregularity."

Referring to the suspension of construction works in Santorini, he offered his own assessment: "If you ask me what I feel or what I believe, it is that the suspension will be extended further after January 1."

Investors look for operating assets

George Spanos, Vice Chairman and CEO of Domes Resorts, underlined that conditions for tourism investment remain favourable. "After COVID there was a major shift of institutional investors toward the European Mediterranean," he said. Describing how investors view licensing risk, however, he noted: "They invest only in operating hotels. Not even closed hotels, but operating ones."

Value over beds

Lila Tsitsogiannopoulou, Director of Real Estate Advisory at PwC, presented conclusions from the REPI index for the Greek real estate market. On tourism, she said: "In hotels, value comes from development and less from the number of beds," noting that "the sector is turning toward smaller units, toward higher-level products."

Constraints as an opportunity for luxury

Stelios Koutsivitis, Chairman of SWOT Hospitality Management Company, highlighted the prospects of integrated tourism developments and luxury residences. "I think this is the big opportunity for the country's leap into more luxury investments," he remarked, referring to the restrictions of the new spatial framework. In his view, "through these restrictions, one could say, there is also an opportunity for much higher-quality developments, much more luxurious developments."

The discussion on the new spatial framework was moderated by Kostas Panagakis, Principal at Travelworks.

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