Tag: Mercan Asia

The particularly good course of tourism in 2025 and the dynamic closing at the end of the year marked a milestone for Greek tourism. According to the Bank of Greece, in December, nonresident traveler arrivals increased by 49% compared to the corresponding month in 2024, and travel receipts by 33%. For the whole of 2025, […]

One of the most profitable investment areas in recent years has been the housing market in period 2017-2018. Comparing the picture in Attica and Thessaloniki, the most profitable was the housing market in the Municipality of Thessaloniki, where an increase of 146% was recorded from the fourth quarter of 2018 to the fourth quarter of […]

Investments by US nationals in Greek real estate through the country’s Golden Visa program rose by 30% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to data from Varnavas Law Firm, which specializes in real estate and investment migration. While Chinese, Turkish, and Israeli nationals continue to dominate Greece’s Golden Visa program, data shows that […]

In 2025, the Greece Golden Visa Program experienced remarkable growth, driven primarily by investors from Turkey, Israel, China, Iran, and the United States. Amid mounting global economic pressures, regional conflicts, and rising security concerns, an increasing number of high-net-worth individuals are turning to residency-by-investment programs to secure a safer and more stable future for their […]

Panama formalized its application to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program by creating an inter-institutional working group to strengthen border security, information exchange, and academic, cultural, and business ties, the Foreign Ministry reported on Tuesday. “The eventual visa waiver should not be understood solely as an immigration facilitation, but as a tool to strengthen ties between our societies, promote academic, cultural and business exchanges, and deepen contact between our peoples, always under high […]

Tourist accommodation recorded 32.5 million guests and 82.1 million overnight stays in 2025, increases of 3.0% and 2.2%, respectively, compared with 2024, with overnight stays by residents accelerating, reducing dependence on external markets. According to preliminary data on tourism activity released today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), 2025 saw an acceleration in the […]

In the third quarter of 2025, Portugal’s real estate market continued its strong growth momentum. According to the latest local-level housing price statistics released by Portugal’s National Statistics Institute (INE), home prices accelerated across multiple major cities nationwide, while transaction activity also increased. National home prices rise 16.1% year over year as transaction volume grows […]

The European Commission has adopted the European Union’s first-ever Visa Strategy, outlining a more strategic approach to visa policy as the bloc faces growing global mobility, regional instability and increasing geopolitical competition. Unveiled on January 29, 2026, the Strategy aims to modernize the EU’s visa framework in a way that strengthens the security of the […]

Building management problems could slash the value of an apartment by as much as 20%, due to the significant depreciation that the lack of maintenance and repairs can generate, according to a study carried out by Billys, a Greek platform for managing blocks of flats. The study showed that failing to address many small problems […]

Greek hotels recorded another year of solid revenue growth in 2025, with earnings approaching 2 billion euros, according to the latest annual Greek Hospitality Industry Performance report by GBR Consulting. However, the report warns that mounting operating costs and a heavy tax burden continue to erode profitability across the sector. Based on GBR’s benchmark survey […]

The Panamanian real estate market closed 2025 with a contractionary performance in aggregate terms, but with a clear internal recomposition that reveals where demand is shifting. According to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) of the Comptroller General of the Republic , the total number of registered properties decreased by 2.8% in 2025. The result consolidates […]

In modern wealth planning, residency and citizenship programs are no longer viewed purely as immigration outcomes. For internationally mobile investors, they are increasingly used as strategic tools for global mobility, asset allocation, asset diversification, and tax optimization, aligned with different capital objectives and economic environments. Within this framework, Portugal, Greece, and Panama represent three clearly differentiated strategies, each serving a distinct […]

The tourism sector is expected to grow by more than 5% in Portugal in 2026, said the Minister of Economy, who believes that “tourism is increasingly valuable” and “still has a very large growth potential.” “If we continue at this pace, growing more than 5% per year, it is more than the annual GDP [Gross […]

Portugal’s recent review of its citizenship law has once again drawn strong attention from international investors and families. Proposed amendments related to residency duration and the calculation of qualifying residence periods were suspended following intervention by the Constitutional Court, meaning the current legal framework remains in force. In an era of increasingly unpredictable global immigration […]

Air travel in Greece returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2025, placing the country eighth among European states for aviation recovery and reinforcing its role as a key tourism market in southern Europe. EUROCONTROL data showed that Greece recorded an average of 1,549 daily flights, including arrivals and departures, representing a 4 percent increase compared to […]