Calabria, Italy: Rising New Hotspot for Tourists & Investors

Photos: Calabria, Italy: Rising New Hotspot for Tourists & Investors

May 02, 2011 03:36 PM EDT

An increase in tourist numbers in Italy last year is expected to have a knock-on effect on the country's property market.

Euromonitor International's Travel Industry Global Overview found that visitor numbers to the European destination reached 43.2 million in 2010 - up 2.2 per cent.

Combined with stabilising property prices and a 1.3 per cent GDP growth, potential property buyers and holiday home investors are expected to reap the rewards.

In particular, the organisation claimed that the combination of fine cuisine, spectacular natural scenery and friendly local hospitality has helped Calabria establish itself as a tourism hotspot.

Steven Worboys, managing director of Experience International, said that the region has been attracting interest from investors around the world.
"Calabria was Italy's best kept secret for many years but now the region has been discovered and is charming not only British holiday makers and property buyers but also Germans, Russians, Polish and Scandinavian nationals seeking stunning scenery, a Mediterranean climate and affordable living within a few hours flight," he said.

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Calabria is at the very south of the Italian peninsula, to which it is connected by the Monte Pollino massif, while on the east, south and west it is surrounded by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas.

Source: Wikimedia Commons / Przemyslaw "Blueshade" Idzkiewicz.

Although the beautiful green sea is ever present in Calabria, it is mainly a mountainous region. Three mountain ranges are present: Pollino, La Sila and Aspromonte.

Source: Wikimedia Commons / Potito m. petrone