INVgolf / Dr. Michael Vranas, President, The Crete Golf Club

Michael Vranas, President, The Crete Golf Club, to speak at the 2003 European GOLF Investment and Real Estate Conference

October 8, 2003 -- Michael Vranas, President, The Crete Golf Club, will deliver a speech to a distinguished audience at the 2003 European GOLF Investment and Real Estate Conference & Exhibition in Athens on November 28, 2003.

Michael, a lawyer and hotelier by profession, is President of The Crete Golf Club and co-owner of Robinson Club - Lyttos Beach. He has been the visionary moving force in opening the way for The Crete Golf Club and the new era of golf development in Greece.

Michael successfully gathered, led and cemented 32 individual partners into an effective team, which packaged the land with 92 separate contracts. Michael knows the legal framework, political intricacies and bureaucratic obstacles in Greece, and has developed an effective strategy for overcoming them. The company currently has 43 shareholders.

Although Crete is the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean basin and the largest Greek island, it only has one 18-hole golf course (The Crete Golf Club) and one 9-hole course (Elounda Golf Club).

Commenting on his participation in the conference, Michael said: "We are very excited about this pan-European conference and exhibition and are delighted to present two highly attractive golf & real estate investment and development opportunities during this important international industry event at the conference. We look forward to meeting industry leaders, investors, developers, consultants and other high-level executives from Europe, North America and elsewhere."

About The Crete Golf Club

The Crete Golf Club

Introducing golf to Crete, local hoteliers have put together a team of world-class designers (PGADC) and developers to create an 18-hole championship golf resort. Catering to tourists, the course was built to meet USGA standards. It features a desert course design language, with four sets of tees, wide fairways and perfect maintenance in a typical mountainous Cretan environment, offering unparalleled views. The Crete Golf Club is located within a 10-minute drive from the favourite tourist destination of Hersonissos, a tourist centre 24 km. east of Heraklion.

The development, on a 720,000 square metres site, cost EUR 16,140,870 to develop. This is the first full 18-hole golf course to be opened on the beautiful island of Crete.

It is a 6,430-yard course with two driving ranges. The course, created in a desert-style design, is a par 71, 18-hole championship layout. It has two loops of nine, which seamlessly blend into the existing landscape. Click here for a lay-out of the course. The club is open all year. The course was designed golf course architect Mr. Bob Hunt of PGA Design Consulting, United Kingdom.

The Crete Golf Club was officially opened by Nikos Christodoulakis, Greece's former Minister of Economy and Finance, on Sunday, October 19, 2003, but has been operating since the beginning of July 2003.

What advantages does Greece and Crete offer to foreign investors?

Greece, and especially Crete, is an established international tourist destination.
Crete already has three international airports with 2,500,000 tourists per year.
It is a safe and peaceful place without internal conflicts.
As a member of the European Union, Greece has a stable monetary environment.
The climate in Crete is the mildest in the whole Mediterranean, with year round sunshine and ideal temperatures and humidity.
The natural beauty of Greece and especially of Crete, with its exquisite beaches, its snow-covered mountains and its rich hinterland is known all over the world.
The rich cultural heritage of Crete, its traditions and its hospitality make it an interesting and attractive destination.
The local agricultural products and the Cretan diet are world famous.
Crete has a strong regional economy.
The Greek government has the political will to support the implementation of such projects. This is put into practice through the new legal framework and investment law for the development of high-level and specialised tourist facilities.
The return on investment, as estimated by acclaimed international financial consultants, is at a high level in relation to the low risk of the investment.