Foreign investors praise Slovakia

Good prospects for the economy and, consequently, for tourism in Slovakia: Foreign investors spoke positively about the development of their business activities in Slovakia and are looking to the future with optimism.

In a survey of 114 German, Austrian and French companies about the development of their investments, nine out of ten respondents said that the Slovak economy was on the right track: 92 percent of the participating companies would make their investments again, viewed from today's perspective. The survey was conducted by the German-Slovak Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Slovakia). Since 2009, Austrian and French companies have also taken part in the survey by the German-Slovak Chamber of Industry and Commerce. While investors were still largely gloomy in 2009, cautious optimism is now spreading: around 35 percent of the companies surveyed expect conditions to improve over the course of 2010.

According to the investors surveyed by the German-Slovak Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Slovakia's strengths as a business location include above all its EU membership, willing and capable workers, relatively moderate labor costs, and a predictable tax system. The euro and employees' so-called wage restraint proved to be stabilizing factors for the Slovak economy during the economic crisis of 2009. Sectors of the Slovak economy such as tourism must now work with their foreign partners to capitalize on this upbeat mood and make the country's already well-developed holiday regions, such as those around Lake Štrbské , even more attractive to foreign tourists.