Lodging Econometrics Completes Development Pipelines and Three Year Supply Growth Forecasts for 21 Asian Countries
LE’s president, Patrick Ford, said, “At the end of 3Q06 there were 656 projects in the Asian pipeline being actively pursued by developers. Those Asia projects have 169,691 guestrooms and average 259 rooms each. 371 of the projects are already Under Construction. The pipeline is moving forward at a feverish pitch as developers rush to complete their projects.”
Many of the underdeveloped countries in the region are enjoying strong economic growth spurts. “In the case of China and India, economic growth is so explosive it may well be overheating.” explained Ford. “Business and tourist travel are such big components of the region’s current growth cycle that it is no surprise that there are unusual and significant growth opportunities available for International Hotel Companies.”
India – The World’s Back Office
India is booming and is also “under roomed”. A number of cities have blossomed with suburban “Silicon Valley” type Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) as many developed countries are outsourcing technology and software development, telephone service centers, and a variety of other accounting and medical services to India at a great savings.
Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Pune and the suburbs of Mumbai are the area’s attracting international investment and as expected, are the cities with the largest development pipelines. Combined these cities account for 89 of the 161 projects in the pipeline and 16,734 guestrooms, which is 68% of the rooms in India’s total pipeline.
India suffers from an outdated infrastructure – airports, train systems, highways – and as a consequence is not yet an attractive destination for international tourists. However, as the middle class is becoming more prosperous Native Indian tourist travel is growing rapidly, particularly in coastal cities like Goa which has magnificent beaches, and in a number of other destinations with major religious shrines.
Of the 161 projects in India’s pipeline only 100 will have 4 and 5 star designations. The other 61 are 1, 2 and 3 star developments. A number of them are new economy brands recently designed for the Indian market place. Taj’s Ginger Hotels is one brand, Lemon Tree and Red Fox are others. Together they plan to compete with Accor’s Ibis brand which has 7 projects in India’s pipeline and a total of 31 throughout Asia. It’s the largest number of development projects in the Asian region for any brand.
By INRnews Correspondent
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