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2 chains mull hotel developments
Dnevnik Daily, 12.03.2005
A Lithuanian and a Spanish hotel chains have included Bulgaria in their mid-term investment plans. Europa Group, a Lithuanian-owned hotel chain, intends to invest some 23 mln euro into its ambitious expansion plans in the Baltic countries and Eastern Europe, Romani and Bulgaria in particular, in the next few years, said the Lithuanian News Agency. The group intends to open a new hotels in Riga, Tallinn, in Lithuanian spa resort of Druskininkai and the second-biggest city of Kaunas, in the next two years. 'This will complete our expansion program in the Baltics. Our network of hotels across the Baltics will give us a competitive edge over our competitors,' Europa Group CEO Martynas Kaciulis told BNS. 'In the future, we intend to expand into eastern European countries. We bought a building in Bucharest in February and also have plans to open a hotel in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia,' he said. 'We see a lot of potential in the markets of Romania and Bulgaria because of the growth of their economies, the increase in the number of tourists, the warm climate, and commercials on CNN, BBC, and other channels. I bet that these countries will become as popular as Egypt and Turkey,' Martynas Kaciulis, the head of Europa Group, was quoted as saying by the Lithuanian agency. Europa Group's hotel in Romania should open for business in 2007 or 2008, and the Bulgarian hotel in 2008. The group is also eyeing Warsaw, Bratislava, Prague, Budapest and Zagreb. Europa Group partners with Hansabank, an Estonian bank that has been one of the active players on the Bulgarian capital market. The bank recently bought a 5% stake in the Varna-based Odessos Ship Repair Yard. For its part, Spanish hotel chain Barcelo will invest 90 mln euro in the opening of 25 hotels by 2007, sources from the company was quoted as saying on March 10, 2005, by newspaper Cinco Dias. Barcelo eyes a network of 73 hotels in Europe by 2007 and the openings will be mostly in Spain, but also in Bulgaria, Malta, Istanbul, Warsaw and Berlin. see source
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