Greek investors in Albania - Venetopoulos: It is an undiscovered gem of the Mediterranean. The yacht industry will grow
Despite the fact that Turkey and Italy are the two countries with the largest flow of investments in Albania, investors from our southeastern neighbor, Greece, are also showing increasing interest in Albania.
Last year alone, Greek investments reached 14 million euros. Since 2021, the flow of direct investments from Greece has reached 69 million euros.
At the largest business event of the year, "Match Maker Albania", among over 700 Albanian and international investors, there were also Greeks, who consider our country to have great potential for investment, but also to be very open and serious about doing business.
Diogenis Venetopoulos, Greek Investor in Albania
“ We have developed an extensive program in Albania over the years, the demand is growing significantly from year to year, a few years ago we started with Saranda, today we are calling every port in Albania to invest, namely Saranda, Vlora and Durrës. With the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and personally Mr. Marios Belibasakis from the Greek Embassy in Albania, we have already opened a company here in Tirana, to increase the activity of yachts, cruises, but also land tourism in Albania. Personally, I believe that Albania is an undiscovered gem of the Mediterranean that will flourish in the coming years and I am really focusing extensively to invest in what I believe will be a very strong travel destination.
First of all, it is practically today the only, I would say, coastal country of the Mediterranean that has not been really explored. I have been in the travel and tourism industry all my life, I work with people who have traveled to many countries around the world and when I tell them Albania, they say, oh, I have not been to Albania, I would really like it. So, a country in the heart of Europe, with the most beautiful coasts, on the Adriatic coastline, with beautiful mountains, as the Prime Minister said.
This country and investments can only go forward, and I see a very friendly place to do business, an open place to do business, and I am very pleased with everything I have seen so far.
Of course, our plan is to invest in other projects. I also have the role of Vice President in the Greek Yacht Owners Association, I believe that the yacht industry can grow significantly. I am also on the board of the Cruise Ship Owners Association and I am encouraging many cruise lines, other cruise lines, to invest in Albania, so on the coastal side.
On the land side, when we talk about hotels, when we talk about tours, when we talk about mountain walks, hiking, the possibilities are really great. I was just in America, in fact I returned on Saturday, I was at one of the most important travel and tourism shows with former students of Harvard, Stanford, Yale, National Geographic, I was talking about Albania and I saw the interest that these people were showing in coming to Albania.
According to the Albanian Investment Development Agency, macroeconomic stability, free access to major markets, strong growth potential, optimal geographical location, young population, competitive labor costs, liberal and reformist investment climate, as well as competitive taxes and incentives, are the elements that most attract foreign investors.
Marios Belibasakis, Head of the Department of Economy and Trade at the Greek Embassy:
“Enterprise Greece is an institution similar to the Albanian Investment Development Agency. Enterprise Greece / Invest & Trade and AIDA have already signed a memorandum of understanding, so we have a large delegation of Greek business here and this is the first step to create more synergy, connections and business opportunities between the two countries and to attract more investments, both in Albania and in Greece.
Albania is a very good market and there are many opportunities for Greek investors in the sectors of energy, construction, building materials, tourism and many, many other areas. You know, we are neighboring countries, we have many things, agritourism, the food sector, many areas that we can work together and create opportunities for the people of both countries.
Projects in the near future are in tourism, currently we have a large Greek company operating in Albania. We have construction materials companies, but also some energy projects.
"In southern Albania there is a large Greek company collaborating with an Albanian company on an energy project. There are also several food companies that are expected to invest in Albania."
The relations between Albania and Greece are also linked in trade exchanges. Greece turns out to be one of Albania's 3 main partners, both in terms of exports and imports. According to data from INSTAT, in February of this year, the countries with which Albania has had the greatest increase in exports, compared to February 2024, are Kosovo with 63.7%, Greece with 10.2% and Germany with 7.5%. Also, the countries with which Albania has had the greatest increase in exports since the beginning of the year are again Kosovo with 76.8%, Germany with 3% and Greece with 6.3%.
On the other hand, in terms of imports, the largest increase compared to a year ago results from Italy, about 1.2%, China with 31.1% and Greece with 6.3%.
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