Activity in the hotel sector in the Middle East and India is currently hot and getting hotter. International tourism expenditure in India is anticipated to hit $10bn (£5bn) this year and in the Middle East it is predicted that $3trn (£1.5trn) will be invested in the tourism and infrastructure sectors during the next 20 years. On the ground this translates into massive levels of hotel development and international hotel brands that are very keen to get a piece of the action. Outward investment from these regions into foreign hotel real estate and foreign hotel chains is also very high.
Dubai World recently brought its hotel businesses under one banner, through merging the real estate businesses of Nakheel and Istithmar World Real Estate into a single entity. The group has hotel investments in excess of $3bn (£1.5bn) under management and current projects include The Trump International Hotel and Tower under development on The Palm Jumeirah.
