WITH over 38 million citizens, Poland is the biggest market among new European
Union member states and the most attractive foreign direct investment (FDI) destination in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), according to a 2017 report by EY. Pomerania is the fastest-growing region in the country, with a gross domestic product growth rate of 4.5 percent.
Located by the sea, Pomerania is fueling its rise with the development of the maritime industry. Since the introduction of direct calls from major Asian ports, Pomerania has become Poland's gateway to the world and its role as the port hub for CEE is steadily growing. This, along with other factors, such as availability of skilled workforce, lower costs of doing
business and EU membership, has resulted in numerous investment projects from world giants, including Flex, CMC and MOL. For these reasons, Pomerania was ranked fourth in the prestigious Best-Performing Cities in Europe ranking by Milken Institute, while the Tricity metropolitan area (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot) was recognized as the "most dynamically developing city" at the CEE Shared Services And Outsourcing Awards Gala 2018.
Pomerania key facts:
4th biggest emerging market (Bloomberg, 2018)
Top CEE destination (EY's Attractiveness Survey Europe, 2017)
1st place in terms of total jobs created in Europe - approx. 87K 335 investment projects (FDI Intelligence, 2017)
2nd in the EU in terms of investment costs (FDI Intelligence, 2017) (FDI Intelligence, 2017)
1st place in terms of economic growth in Poland (4,6%)
Pomerania has a unique logistic potential resulting primarily from its excellent geographic location. The region is situated at the intersection of the two pan-European Networks connecting Western Europe with the Baltic States and Scandinavian countries with the Adriatic.
The growing network of expressways and motorways at the regional and national level is of a great importance for the local economy. Recent developments co-founded by the EU funds not only connected Pomeranian seaports with the region, but they also connected the region itself with other parts of the country. Undoubtedly, these projects have boosted Pomeranian attractiveness from the real estate perspective.
The historic city of Gdansk has many interesting new developments located in both its picturesque city center and its outskirts. New residential developments, office buildings and industrial and logistics projects are sprouting up all around.
Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport is the second regional airport in Poland. Last year the passengers traffic amounted to 4.6 million and the target volume for 2020 is 7.5 million passengers. Gdansk airport offers direct flights to sixty different destinations and the network of the connections is constantly growing. Recently introduced direct flights
include Vienna, Kharkiv, Lviv and Tromso. Among all Polish airports, Gdansk offers the biggest offer of flight connections with the Scandinavian countries.
Pomerania stands out from all the other regions due to the coastal location and presence of two seaports. The two Pomeranian ports (Port of Gdansk and Port of Gdynia) can handle all kinds of cargo and unlike Russian ports remain tide- and ice-free all year round. In 2017 both ports kept their record high transshipments for the fourth year in a row. Total volume of the cargo transshipped stood at 62 million tones.
Container handling is undoubtedly the key driver of the growth. The main contributor to this
result was DC Gdansk (Deepwater Container Terminal). Once launching the direct calls from Asia, the terminal has become a port hub for CEE region inhabited by nearly 100 million citizens. Growing global trade, progressive process of containerization and expected
economic growth in CEE (the fastest growing region in Europe) will enhance container business in the next decade.
Gdynia's waterfront is undergoing vast redevelopment. New office and residential buildings with modern architecture and well-planned public spaces, passages and squares will create
a unique atmosphere.
Sopot, a modern resort town, best known for its Art Nouveau spas and villas, is mainly focusing on tourism, investing in recreational and medical facilities (sanatoriums). The Municipality of Sopot has also undertaken a lot of residential initiatives, strategically investing in housing for young families.
Over the last seven years, number of tourists coming Pomerania has increased by 55% reaching 9 million visitors annually. Over the past two years, the region was visited by 9 million tourists YOY.
Improved accessibility by road, rail and air without doubt contributed to the growth. In recent years Pomerania has been in the spotlight as it hosted several international events including European Football Championship, European Handball Championship and World Volleyball Championship, just to name a few.
The strong brand of the city of Gdansk in the international arena builds the recognition of the entire Pomeranian Voivodeship and cities forming the metropolis. Gdansk was in the top
three recommended places to visit as part of the "European Best Destination 2017" overcoming such cities as Barcelona or London. Trip advisor also called Gdansk a TOP Rising Destination 2018.
One of the strategic goals of the region is to extend the tourist season and attract tourists all year round.
The occupancy of tourist accommodation establishments in Pomerania is slightly higher than the country average (41,9% versus 39,3%). Occupancy rate grows hand in hand with the standard of the establishment (5*hotels - 59.6%, 4* hotels 53%, 3* - 41.6%).
The new kind of resorts becomes very popular last years in Poland - holiday parks and villages with YIELD up to 12% and return on investment up to 20% per year. We propose various investment opportunities of ready to rent houses in Holiday parks in Pomeranian region and land plots for residential and hotel development. More information by the link.