ATHENS — American hotel giant Marriott International will pull out of Athens after a 30-year run, a local representative for the hotel said on Friday.



"We had a 30-year contract which runs out on December 31. After discussions, both sides agreed not to renew," Andreas Meletiou told AFP.



"The hotel will continue to operate directly from its parent company," he added.



On its website, the Athens Ledra Marriott said: "Please be advised that as of December, 31st 2013 the hotel will no longer operate as a Marriott."



The luxury hotel is situated on the central Syngrou avenue, close to the Greek capital's city center.



Slogging through a sixth straight year of recession and with little progress in cutting red tape, Greece has labored to attract investors.



A crash privatization drive of state assets has so far had little success, and a number of prominent companies have relocated to other markets in recent months.



French supermarket giant Carrefour and banks Credit Agricole and Societe Generale recently took steps to extricate themselves from Greece.



Last year, Coca-Cola's second biggest bottler worldwide, Athens-based Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCHBC), moved its headquarters to Switzerland.



And Fage, one of the country's main dairy producers and a major exporter, also relocated to Luxembourg. — AFP