The world says you’re my wonder wall

The Great Wall of China has been voted one of the New7Wonders of the World by millions of voters worldwide this month. The final seven were announced at an official ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on 7th July 2007, attended by the likes of astronaut Neil Armstrong, actors Ben Kingsley and Hilary Swank, Jennifer Lopez and Jose Carreras.

From a shortlist of 21 sites, more than 100 million votes were cast by people in almost 200 countries. The winners were broadcast to an estimated 1.6 billion viewers in 170 countries.

Tourism bodies for the various short listed countries were quick to realise the potential marketing mileage a nomination would get them, together with the subsequent increase in visitors and so throughout the run up to the final they were keen to generate public interest and therefore votes in the competition.

In Jordan, private businesses and the government spent tens of thousands of dollars promoting Petra. Along with a print, radio and TV ad campaigns, visitors to the country were handed leaflets upon arrival at Amman's airport, urging them to visit the city and vote for it.

Brazil and Peru were also especially active in promoting their historic sites and at the venue of one of the Live Earth concerts in Rio de Janeiro, hundreds of thousands of concert-goers broke into huge applause as they were told that the city's Christ the Redeemer statue had been included among the new Wonders of the World.

Jordan, Brazil and Peru’s hard work paid off for they all made the final seven, with the other four being Chichén Itzá, Mexico; The Great Wall, China; The Roman Colosseum, Italy and The Taj Mahal, India.

The original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are believed to have been chosen by the first ever tourism marketeers – the Ancient Greeks - as a guide to the must-sees of the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, out of the original Seven Wonders of the ancient world, only the Great Pyramid of Giza remains. The others were: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Asia Minor, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos of Alexandria.

Buying a property in a country that has a Wonder of the World or a finalist makes so much sense. Having a potential 1.6 billion plus people interested in visiting the country to see this site since this competition must surely ensure an increase in tourism and therefore a higher demand for rental and tourist accommodation.

“Now that Brazil has been voted as having one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, its blossoming economy and dramatic expansion of tourism-related real estate investment is fully expected to continue.” commented Steve Worboys, MD of Experience International (experience-brazil.co.uk).

“With sunshine for almost every day of the year, Natal in the north east of the country is especially establishing itself as the number one beach destination for investment in Brazil. A luxury, two bedroom, beach front apartment can still be found in the resort for as little as £55,126 / €81,543”

If you wanted a property a little closer to home yet still in the land home to two of the Ancient Seven Wonders then Piraeus Bank London (http://piraeusbank.co.uk), the UK arm of one of Greece’s leading financial institutions is offering specialist mortgage services to UK and Irish residents buying property in Greece. Irini Tzortoglou, Head of Retail Banking at Piraeus Bank London was pleased that the Acropolis made the list of finalists: “Athens has been a popular visitor destination since tourism began and is also of increasing interest to investors. The fact that you are still able to buy a two bedroom apartment in this major European city for around £70,000 is a great pull and with the continuance of heavy tourist traffic to this beautiful and historic capital, boosted by this competition, property prices are set to soar.”

In the Western Mediterranean, whilst property prices in Spain might not be soaring, neither are they dropping, despite the recent Spanish stock market slump. “Spain is still a popular holiday home market” says Martin Dell, MD of kyero.com “The exposure of the 13th century Alhambra Palace in Granada to a wider audience through this competition can only remind potential visitors and investors that Spain is not just about sun and sangria”.

The Moorish architecture of this fascinating citadel is reflected in other dwellings in the province but you don’t need a royal wallet in order to afford to buy them, according to the latest Spanish House Price Index from kyero.com (the largest English language Spanish property portal). Whereas the average property price for Spain is €250,000, in the province of Grenada that figure is just €180,000.

Another Mediterranean finalist, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, ensured that Turkey was represented in the global competition. The land where east meets west holds a rich history but is now entering a new era as the country’s coastlines becoming popular holiday and second property destinations.

“Prices for stunning golf-based and seafront properties with all the amenities you could wish for are incredibly low compared with the traditional sunshine holiday destinations of Spain and Portugal.” says Caroline Hollingworth, MD of Hollingworth and Associates (hollingworthassociates.co.uk). A five star private beachfront apartment an hour from Izmir International Airport is available from under £25,000 through Hollingworth and Associates

Seven Wonders veteran, Egypt, although not making it into the final seven was short listed. Egypt however has never been short of tourists and Tahir Ali, MD of Egypt Revealed (egypt-revealed.com) was not overly concerned, “The pyramids are and have always been an awe-inspiring sight and will always attract the attention of overseas visitors. However, it is the natural attractions of Egypt that have seen a 50% increase of British tourists over the last two years. The Red Sea resorts of Hurghada, Sahl Hasheesh and Sharm el Sheik are blessed with year-round sunshine mixed with a cooling breeze and an amazing underwater world. International interest in the country’s future is huge and there has been a massive increase in FDI since 2003 . Around a 15% property price increase is expected this year and investors can still stake a claim for less than £27,000.”

Following the New7Wonders of the World competition results, the New7Wonders Foundation announced its up-coming campaign; The New7Wonders of Nature, which will celebrate the world’s natural heritage. It will be voted on following the same procedure as the last competition with results announced on 08.08.08. What will this mean for tourism and local property markets? We do have to ensure however that growth in these sectors is not at the cost of the wonders of nature.

For more information about the New7Wonders please visit new7wonders.com/index.php?id=315