Lamda Develomplent, a prominent Greek development fund on Tuesday announced plans to create a ‘world-class resort’ at the former Athens airport of Elliniko that could be bring around four billion euros to Greece’s economy.
Situated eight kilometres (five miles) south of Athens, Hellinikon and an adjoining 337-berth marina span nearly 620 hectares and include a waterfront of about 3.5 kilometres.

For Lamda Development associate Russell Kett, the Elliniko overhaul will contribute significantly to the increase of tourism in Athens. The world class resort will attract more travelers to the Greek capital, especially those that are not just interested in antiquities.

The chairman of London-based tourism analysts HVS told Vima newspaper that he believes that this investment will bring unprecedented growth.

As Mr. Kett explains: “The challenge for Athens in recent years is to persuade its visitors to return. You cannot suddenly discover new antiquities and the people that come to Athens need another reason to visit the area. Elliniko project is part of this effort,” he notes.

The project that will cost approximately seven billion euros aims to transform the Elliniko area into an international resort which will include five hotels with a capacity of 2,000 beds and is expected to attract 1 million additional tourists, offering Athens an additional three million nights per year and extending the average length of stay in the city from 1.9 to 2.5 nights.

Attractions cannot be recreated

The project will also help the Greek tourism product to mature and reach a new phase,” says Mr Kett.
He points out that “there are many ways to upgrade Greece as a destination of the international tourism scene.”

One of them is “to offer a tourism product that people want”. “In many countries, the investments in the hotel sector are not sufficient and nowdays, when the people decide on their journey, they are not just looking at the brochures of the travel agency. They consult Trip Advisor and similar websites and read about the experiences of previous clients. These comments affect them positively or negatively,” noted Mr. Kett.