The main purpose of this report is to introduce the idea of opening a new five star hotel, in Mykonos, an island located in Greece, in the Aegean Archipelago. In order to assess whether the opening of a new hotel will be a success or not, some factors have to be evaluated. Firstly, we have to analyze whether the population of the island and the infrastructure supports such a business, we have to search how many tourists are visiting Greece, and more specifically the island of Mykonos and what is the nationality of the majority of these tourists.

Potential competition from other islands and the neighboring countries will also be an important matter to consider. Also, since we plan to build a five star hotel, the observation of other similar hotels in the area will also be an important step in order to come to a conclusion. Furthermore, the various means of transportation that is provided to tourists in order to reach the island and in order to go about in the streets of Mykonos is also an important factor that will be examined. Statistical data, graphical representation and charts will be essential for the analysis.

Finally, through this examination we will be able to decide if the opening of a new five star hotel in the island of Mykonos could be a success. Analysis The main advantage of the hotel is its location. It will be situated carefully in order to obtain the best possible view, including magical sunsets without any building blocking this unforgettable sight since it will be built on the highest spot of a hill and having the illuminated “town” of Mykonos on the left and the island of Tinos on the right with the beautiful Aegean sea being anywhere you look.

This location also allows tourists having the luxury of being 10 minutes away (by car) from the famous “town” of Mykonos where all the morning strolls and the midnight clubbing takes place, 20 minutes away from the airport, 15 minutes from Archaeological Sites and 5-20 minutes away from the selection of 20 amazing beaches that surround the island, all having different aspects in order to please every kind of tourists, even the most demanding ones.

Apart from its beaches, Mykonos has an appropriate infrastructure that supports our decision to build our hotel on the particular island and it is also the reason that the island “has experienced rapid tourist development”. 1 Restaurants situated both in the “town” of Mykonos and spread across the island offer an amazing variety of cuisines, and tourists can find almost all kinds of food, varying from Greek cousin to European tastes, from cheap to expensive and fast food restaurants to the most luxurious and refined ones.

Also, Mykonos is very famous for its night life, so the younger tourists can enjoy a night out in “town” and choose between a wide variety of bars and clubs whereas the ones that appreciate a drink next to the pool whilst enjoying the view can stay at the hotel’s pool side bar. All these aspects of the island have made the World Travel Market (WTO) vote Mykonos as the “Best European Island for the year 2008″.

Our hotel will offer everything expected from a 5 star hotel including a Spa and beauty center, a fitness centre, 2 tennis courts, 1 basketball court, two outdoor and one indoor swimming pools, two restaurants providing local dishes, Mediterranean dishes and international food and 2 bars, one next to the outdoor swimming pool and one situated in one of the restaurants. The accommodation offered will be mostly private suites or apartments, some of them with small private pools and balconies and also there will be several luxurious rooms.

Since Mykonos has five more 4-5 star very large hotels and are all almost every summer holiday season almost fully booked, this gives us the confidence that there is the appropriate market segment that will be willing to pay more for luxurious vacation. Our main advantage comparing to these hotels will be that our hotel will not have an enormous amount of small rooms but more suites and apartments, which will lead to a less amount of people in the hotel but the same revenue for us and a much better and more personal service to our customers.

As mentioned in the introduction an important factor of our research is examining statistical data and other external factors that may affect the tourism in Greece and in Mykonos. First of all, Italy that used to be an important competitor, has faced a ”downturn” in the tourist industry since 19872 and Greece is considered as a better value for money than Italy. 3 Tourism in Mykonos has increased from 2005, with its airport having a rise of 14. 8% on incoming tourists. Egypt, another potential competitor for Greece, seems to be less attractive for tourists5 and Greece appears to be a more attractive location for tourists in terms of offering great beaches and watersports, as mentioned in a Journal of Travel research. 6 Also, based on a research conducted by the Greek government, Greece is the fourth most popular destination for British toursists.

Turkey has become a main competitor for holidaymakers from northern Europe wishing to spend time abroad in a warm Mediterranean climate. 7 Albania’s tourist industry, another neighbor of Greece is also being developed. Competition with other Greek Islands is also a matter to consider, since the Aegean Archipelago is the largest complex island in Europe. 9 A possible difficulty that we might face, is that since the hotel is open only for seven months of the year, hiring efficient staff is often difficult as the lack of employment on the island during winter time has driven many potential workers to the big cities in Greece in search of full-time employment and also employing seasonal labor might be difficult and might not offer the best quality since most of them are students looking for part time jobs, and not professionals.