Is your grand plan to move abroad and take up a new challenge rather than kick back and draw your pension? Maybe one of these tourist business opportunities will take your fancy and be your ticket to an exciting – and busy – new life in the sun….

A hostel and restaurant in Spain’s Costa Blanca
Holiday accommodation above a restaurant and two bars, this hostel eight kilometres north of Dénia is fully operational and comes with a long-standing customer base. It’s located just 100 metres from the beach in the seafront community of Els Poblets, making it attractive to beach-loving holidaymakers – not to mention a superb place to live!

Accommodation includes two double rooms, three studios and two holiday apartments, one of which has a solarium and would make a nice home for the new owners. The restaurant and bar areas include seating for up to 80 people. Other features include air conditioning, central heating and underfloor heating in some rooms, aluminium and PVC windows, tiled and laminated floors, three terraced areas and satellite TV in all guest rooms. Els Poblets is convenient for airports at Valencia and Alicante, both of which are well connected with the UK and wider Europe. Dénia, with its busy harbour and ferries to the Balearics, pretty old town and long stretch of developed beachfront, is a year-round destination and one of the largest resorts in the Costa Blanca.

Restaurant with rooms in the Lot, France
This delightful salon-de-thé style restaurant is nestled next to the river in the picturesque community of Saint-Cirq Lapopie, which is located in the rugged Lot region and listed as ‘one of the most beautiful villages in France’. Fully operational, it is also on the famous ‘Chemin de St Jacques de Compostelle’ pilgrim route, adding to its tourist appeal, in particular during the summer season.

The restaurant includes a 36-cover dining room. Outside, there’s also a large riverside garden for al fresco dining. The fully fitted commercial kitchen is complemented by a wood-fired pizza oven. For extra income, upstairs are three self-contained one-bedroom apartments that can be let to visitors. Meanwhile, the property also includes a convenient two-bedroom dwelling for the owners. Perched on a cliff three hundred feet above the River Lot, medieval Saint-Cirq Lapopie has 13 listed historic buildings and is regarded as one of the most important sites in the Lot Valley. From the UK, flying to Brive or Toulouse are the most convenient options.

Rural guesthouse in Puglia, Italy
Tucked away in the olive groves near the stunning white hilltop town of Ostuni, Casa Dimora Celeste is a character guesthouse set within landscaped gardens 20 minutes from the pretty Puglian coast. The property, which is in excellent condition, includes a main house on three levels and separate ‘lamia’ building. Accommodation in the former includes nine en-suite bedrooms, a one-bedroom apartment, a kitchenette area and the owners’ two-bedroom apartment. The lamia is used as a self-contained two-bedroom dwelling. Guests can also enjoy use of the large swimming pool and decking area.

The guesthouse comes with its own website and under the current owners has an annual turnover of €100,000 a year, generated during a nine-month season, with outgoings of circa €20,000. This area of Puglia has plenty to attract foreign holidaymakers, who can fly to either Brindisi or Bari. Besides charming Ostuni, known as the ‘white city’, other places to visit include the caves at Castellana, the ‘trullo’ town of Alberobello (a UNESCO World heritage site), the towns of Martina Franca and Cisternino and the city Lecce.

Chalet restaurant in the French Alps
You’d never tire of the views if you took on this picture-postcard mountain restaurant, set amongst the pines beside the slopes of Les Houches ski resort in the Haute Savoie region. Boasting traditional chalet architecture, which includes lots of wood and Alpine features, and a pretty garden, it’s easy to see why skiers flock here for a warming vin chaud during the winter season or walkers for a refreshing drink in the summer months.

Upstairs is a self-contained two-bedroom apartment which can be offered as accommodation for extra income. The agent notes there could be opportunities to grow the business, suggesting corporate and private events with skidoo access, lunch and evening meals or adding more guest accommodation, such as glamping style igloo pods.

Apart-hotel in Crete
Could the largest Greek island of Crete be closer to the sort of working environment you’re looking for? This hotel on the fabulous Rodopos Peninsula is in the traditional village of Afrata, 10 minutes’ drive from the fishing town of Kolymbari. Foreign holidaymakers could reach it via flights into Chania or Heraklion, island-hoppers might arrive by ferry into either of these.

Guest accommodation is all on the upper-storey and comprises three one-bedroom apartments, one studio apartment and one two-bedroom apartment. All are fully furnished and have private balconies with sea views. Downstairs is a two-bedroom apartment for the owners. Facilities at the hotel include a large swimming pool, pretty landscaped gardens, a large terrace with sea views, a pool bar and toilets, plenty of storage and parking for six cars. It shouldn’t take long for your guests to relax and feel right at home here!