The Global credit crunch is affecting even ski resorts now. Bansko, in Bulgaria, despite still being heavily marketed, is feeling the pinch also. Interest in the town dropped off severely in 2007, with prices for hotel rooms dropping, and occupancy down.

Also affected are property prices and with a lack of interest from UK buyers, Bansko is attempting to pull in investors from Russia, Spain and Greece instead. Presumably the Spanish like to head away from the horrible winter weather, much like the Brits.

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Colorado may be the destination most revered by skiers, but worthy competition appears to be emerging from across the pacific. Japan, with its 620 powdery resorts, is fast gaining a reputation for having some of the world’s finest snow. Dry and powdery with a whopping 45 feet per year, the quality of skiing more than makes up for what the slopes lack – altitude. The tallest peak, Mount Fuji, rises only 12,385 feet, no match to Europe’s or North America’s.With quality snow available to skiers as late as early May, and off-season attractions becoming increasingly available, investors worldwide are seeing Japan as the next opportunity for profit. Citigroup, Inc from the US paid over $51 million to revamp 12 resorts, while Japanese-based Hoshino Resorts committed $84 million to restore two additional ones.

The primary focus is to attract skiers from outside the country, as the native skiing population rapidly diminishes. Massive growth in skiers from abroad was demonstrated when the town of Niseko saw a rise from 2,600 skiers in 2001 to a startling 13,000 in 2005 from mainland Asia. The neighbouring town of Hirafu saw an increase from less than 200 to over 7,000 from Australia. Skiers from South Korea rocketed from 5,000 to 15,000 in just one year.

With the growing popularity and future possibilities arising across Japan’s glistening slopes, cultural differences are becoming only a minor inconvenience. English is plastered everywhere from bus schedules to restaurant menus to aid foreign skiers. Mountain huts provide a complete array of Japanese culture for skiers, with native food, music, and traditions. Hot spring baths are even provided to offer a luxurious lull to the slope’s excitement.

For the serious skier, the quality that Japan’s slopes offer serve as an enticing opportunity, coupled by the excitement of foreign travel. As numbers increase, and the resorts continue to improve, investors look at the land of the rising sun and see what may become this generation’s next big international ski attraction. Read more about this at SFGate.

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Property investors from the UK are now willing to step out of the comfort zones of France and Spain and are prepared to seek out better returns on property further afield.

This is the view of Richard Evans, writing for the Telegraph, and he picks out Bulgaria and Turkey as examples of the kind of countries that are now drawing property investment projects.

There are still relatively few cheap flights to Bulgaria and this is clearly a reason behind many investors continuing to prefer property investment in France and Spain. It is noticeable, however, that as an increasing number of European companies begin to offer such a service, activity in the property market has started to rise in Bulgaria.

With cheap flights expected from UK airports before long, demand for property in the country is set to receive a further boost in the coming years, although many investors have already been prepared to pay the extra transportation costs on the basis that they are saving a huge amount on inexpensive property.

Earlier this week, Atanas Garov, managing director at Colliers International Bulgaria, reported that prices for residential and commercial properties were soaring as a result of foreign interest in the country.

This is persuading UK investors in particular to be more adventurous in their investment policies, although looking beyond the familiar property markets certainly provides its own particular challenges.

Mr Evans has warned that you can expect unfamiliar legal, financial and conveyancing arrangements when buying property in faraway locations, but he stressed that conducting thorough research and using a reputable company can dissolve some of these basic stumbling blocks.

According to property company Dosop, three in four of the enquiries it received in the last year were for Bulgaria, reflecting the current levels of interest that the country is attracting.

The reasons for this are multiple, but prospective EU accession and an up-and-coming ski industry seem to have been particularly important. Property prices in and around Bansko, for instance, have been rising steeply in recent months, with the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2014 only adding to the focus.

The Ski Club of Great Britain has recently been championing both Bansko and Borovets as top ski resorts and property prices are shooting up in accordance with the rising number of holidaymakers visiting both locations.

At the other end of the spectrum, Black Sea resorts are also increasing in popularity while Sofia’s developing reputation as a commercial centre has meant that investing in office property has also proved fruitful.

Source: Assetz News