Evergreen Homes & Investments - Worldwide Property

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Romania property investment hailed

People wanting to make maximum returns on a property investment abroad should head to Romania, it has been claimed.

House prices in the country are expected to soar four-fold over the next 10 years as Romania's economy benefits from its entry into the European Union in 2007, according to Channel 4 programme A Place In The Sun.

It has put Romania at the top of its list of the 20 best places in Europe to make money on property in the coming decade.

It said house prices in the country currently average just �17,000, but predicts �100,000 invested now could be worth �514,000 in 10 years time due to the impact EU membership is expected to have on the property market.

Anybody who bought property before the country joined the EU was likely to be in a very strong position as hoards of investors were expected from 2007, it added.

Poland, not the most obvious destination to buy a second property abroad, was named second on the list. But the programme expects �100,000 invested there now to be worth �493,000 in 10 years time as the current transformation Poland is undergoing continues, with increased levels of investment from foreign firms creating more jobs and stoking the property market.Investing the same amount in Portugal could return a property portfolio worth �460,000 by 2016 if predictions of a continuing housing market boom come true.

In fourth place it rates the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, followed by Sweden (fifth) and Belgium (sixth), predicting a �100,000 initial investment in any of these countries now would be worth more than �440,000 by 2016.

Other places to make it into the top 10 include Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland and Hungary. The list was based on economic data from PricewaterhouseCoopers looking at how quickly the economy in each country is expected to grow.

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Air Asia X to launch �100 flights to KL from Summer 2007

Low-cost long-haul flights to Asia are to be launched this summer by a new airline, AirAsia X. Fares from Britain are expected to be priced at around �100 each way to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur when the first flights start in July.

The new airline will be competing with Oasis Hong Kong Airlines which started flying from Gatwick to Hong Kong in October with one-way prices starting at �75.

AirAsia X plans to fly from either Stansted or Manchester to Kuala Lumpur as part of plans to develop a network of budget flights serving China, India, Australia and the Middle East.

The airline is owned by Fly Asian Express and will collaborate with AirAsia, the region's biggest low-cost carrier.

Malaysian aviation entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, who owns part of both airlines, said average ticket prices on long-haul routes would be about half the price of full service airlines.

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Ryanair to open 20 new routes to Morocco

Following EasyJet's recent announcement for flights into Morocco, Ryanair has just signed a deal with the Moroccan government. This follows six months of negotiations.

Travelmole reports that Ryanair will gain access to most regional airports in Morocco and in return has committed to opening up to 20 routes delivering one million passengers a year by the end of the five year period.

Deputy chief executive Michael Crawley said: "This represents a singularly important initiative in the development of tourism and business for the country. The government has recognised that low cost air access is a growth vehicle for tourism throughout Europe and by joining the open skies regime and embracing Europe's leading low fares airline, the government in Morocco has made a clear statement about its intentions to develop its tourism industry in the next five years."

Crawley added: "Ryanair's commitment to establish up to 20 routes and carry close to one million passengers per annum on flights to Morocco is a vote of confidence by the airline in the excellence and attractiveness of Morocco as a destination both for weekend breaks, mid-week trips and longer holidays." The carrier has already announced services from Frankfurt and Marseille, with plans to open up many more new routes.
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Evergreen team appear on Real Estate TV

The directors were asked to appear on Real Estate TV on a programme focusing on life on the Costa del Sol. The programme talked about the real estate market on the Costa del Sol as well and what it is like to live and work on the coast. The programme is called 'Living in Costa del Sol' and is repeated often on the channel. For more information on Real Estate TV visit www.realestatetv.tv or you can watch the channel on SKY channel 279

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New air link to Cape Verde from England

Charter airline company Holiday Options have announced that Cape Verde is set to have a new air link with England, directly into London.
This new route follows another one, which was launched in April, between Sal and Manchester, operated by Italian tourism group Stefanina.

Romira Carneiro, of Holiday Options, told Cape Verde newspaper 'A Semana' that the weekly link to the British capital would begin after the summer and would use an aircraft with the capacity to carry around 250 passengers. The aim, she said, was to channel tourist traffic to the archipelago, at a time when several market studies place Cape Verde on a list of favourite vacation destinations for the British. Carneiro added that the archipelago could soon have a further connection to the UK operated by Cape Verde state air carrier TACV.

Cape Verde tourism has benefited from strong growth over the last few years and is now one of the economy's main driving forces. Last year, hotel establishments in Cape Verde received 233,000 tourists, 26.4 percent more than in the previous year, with the island of Sal boosting its position as the main vacation destination, according to figures from the archipelago's National Statistics Institute.

German & British airliners to fly to Cape Verde

HapagFly, one of Germany's leading charter airliners, announced that the Cape Verde archipelago would be among its main newcomers in this year's winter season. The airliner, known for favourable prices in Germany, is owned by charter giant TUI, and will offer individual travellers better access to Cape Verde. Also a British operator is to offer direct flights to Cape Verde.

HapagFly today announced it would operate direct flights between the three German cities of D�sseldorf, Hamburg and Munich to the international airport at Sal, the island of the Cape Verdean archipelago most developed for tourism. Sal, together with Beirut (Lebanon), Eilat (Israel) and Izmir (Turkey), were announced as the airliner's new destinations in its 2006-07 winter programme.

Cape Verde will figure on HapagFly's flight schedules from 1 November this year. The airliner, which is famed for relatively cheap flights in Germany, announced that flights could already be booked on its website and in travel agencies, noting that the first ones to book would obtain the cheapest tickets.

A quick inspection of the service however reveals that HapagFly does not plan to operate as a discount airliner on its Cape Verde routes, with prices averaging already existing offers. Trying to book a New Year's Eve vacation in Cape Verde for two persons, flying from D�sseldorf on HapagFly's website, the total fare ended up at euro 1,638.

Indeed, there are several flights connecting Germany and Cape Verde that come cheaper. Using the Portugese airliner TAP and making a stopover of some hours in Lisbon, travellers from Frankfurt booking over the internet now get a fare of euro 1608. Even cheaper flights may be found in travel agencies, for example using Cape Verde's own airliner TACV.

The launch of HapagFly's route to Sal however makes the Cape Verdean archipelago far more accessible for Europe's largest holiday market; Germany. The airliner can offer direct flights from three German cities at a certain volume and is a well-known address for Germans seeking standard and alternative holiday destinations in the cold, northern winter.

Further signs that Cape Verde is starting to develop into a significant tourist destination for Germans is that TUI, the world's biggest charter company based in Hanover, Germany, has already included Cape Verde in its brochures. TUI now operates charter tours to the two islands Sal and Boa Vista.

According to TUI, Cape Verde "is still in the shadow of the Canary Islands, but ever more tourists are discovering this new holiday paradise in the Atlantic Ocean." During the last winter season, TUI offered German tourists nine hotels in Sal and Boa Vista. Charter holidays of one week were offered from euro 946 per person.

Meanwhile, also the smaller British tour operator Holiday Options in May announced it had included Cape Verde in its winter programme, direct flights to Sal starting on 2 November. For Britons, prices for a one week charter trip to Sal or Boa Vista start at � 812 (euro 1,180). Holiday Options plans weekly flights from London Gatwick to Sal during the whole 2006-07 winter season.

"Cape Verde has had a great reception in the United Kingdom," the local agent of Holiday Options told 'A Semana'. Indeed Cape Verde was referred to as "one of the new favourite destinations" in a survey carried out on the British public. The survey put Cape Verde at the top of the list of new tourist destinations among Britons.

Cape Verde guarantees support from World Bank

The World Bank and the African Development Bank will continue to grant loans to Cape Verde after the country's change of status to Medium Developed Country, expected in 2008. The statement was made by Cape Verde's foreign minister, Victor Borges during a press conference after two days of meetings with international partners to discuss an gentle transition from Least developed Country (LDC) to MDC.

The decision to make Cape Verde climb one level on the scale, that defines the development of countries which are part of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), was the result of a UN resolution in 2004. This move will have "sensitive" implications for the Cape Verdean economy and its growth, both the archipelago's government and its international development partners believe. However, the decision by the WB and the ADB, two of Cape Verde's main partners may, according to Borges, minimize the impact of the transition from LDC to MDC in 2008.

After two days of meetings, a group was set up to support the forthcoming transition. The group is made up of Cape Verde's main partners: Portugal, USA, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Austria and the People's Republic of China, as well as the WB, the ADB, the European Union, and the United Nations' system in the country.

Investment of 2.5 billion euros to make Cape Verde a top golf destination

Cape Verde is due to receive investments totalling 2.5 billion euros aimed at making the country a top golf destination, according to local press reports.

Contracts for the two main investment projects were signed in the UK, between the Cape Verdean authorities and developer Cape Verde Development, Ernie Els, the company owned by the top golfer of the same name, and PGA Golf Management. The projects include two tourist resorts, one on Sal island (Murdeira Beach) and the other on Sao Vicente (Ba�a das Gatas), which will be launched in 2011, according to daily newspaper Liberal.

These two developments include four golf courses, at the same time, others are being developed on the archipelago, along with marinas, shopping areas and hotels. According to the developers, the new projects will create almost 5,000 new jobs on the archipelago. The agreements were signed during the BMW Championship, which were being held at the Wentworth Golf Club in England.

Cape Verde's tourism has seen strong growth over the last few years and is now one of the main driving forces behind the economy and entry of foreign currency. Last year, hotel facilities in Cape Verde welcomed 233,000 tourists, 26.4 percent more than in the previous year, with Sal Island boosting its position as the islands' main destination, according to figures from the country's National Statistics Institute.

Tourist numbers in Cape Verde increase 26% in 2005

Cape Verde's hotels provided accommodation to 233,548 tourists in 2005, 26.4 percent more than in the previous year, and Sal island was their main destination, the country's National Statistics Institute (INE) said. Figures from a survey on the "Movement of Guests" showed that hotels were the most used facilities, representing 75.9 percent of total visitors to the country, followed by inns, with 9.9 percent and hostels with 5.3 percent.

Sal island received 69.6 percent of all visitors, Santiago 14.3 percent and Sao Vicente 8.4 percent of the total. The number of nights stayed increased by 8.1 percent last year to 935,505, of which 75.9 percent were on Sal.

Italian tourist accounted for around 35 percent of nights stayed, while Portugal and Germany represented 25.2 percent and 11.2 percent of the total, respectively.

The average occupation rate last year was 40 percent, with Sal posting the highest rate of 51 percent, and Boa Vista the lowest, at 28 percent. Also according to INE, last year the number of hotel establishments increased 22 percent to a total of 132.

Sal island had the highest rise, from 24 to 32, followed by Boa Vista, Sao Vicente and Santo Ant�o, with rises of 7 percent, 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

According to the report, the establishments that were majority-owned by private Cape Verdean investors represented 69 percent of the total, while 22 percent were majority-owned by foreign investors.