Despite geopolitical risks and travel delays, records show that India could witness around $1 billion worth of hotel deals this year, according to data and forecasts given by consultancy firm JLL.

In 2025, hotel deals in India were valued at USD 567 million, an increase of 67% compared to the previous year, according to JLL.

India into the top five APAC markets for the first time in the first quarter of 2026, with hotel transactions reaching USD 345 million, up from USD 98 million a year ago, according to JLL statistics.According to Nihat Ercan, CEO of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group in Asia Pacific, the five most active investment markets in the region—Japan, China, Korea, Australia, and Singapore—combine to make up 70 to 80 percent of the region’s transaction volume. The intriguing part, though, is that India finally cracked the top five markets in Q1 2026. We were previously expecting India volumes to be worth approximately $500 million in 2026, but if the first quarter’s trend persists, we might be on the verge of witnessing $1 billion in sales activity in India that year,” he said.

In the first quarter of 2026, according to JLL, sales in Japan were approximately USD 1 billion, sales in China were USD 724 million, and sales in South Korea were USD 471 million. Fourth place went to India with 345 million USD, followed by Australia with 235 million USD. A quarter of the region’s total transaction volume came from India. “The total volume in 2025 was USD 10.8 billion for APAC, down 20 per cent year-on-year, from USD 13.3 billion in 2024,” Ercan stated. Transaction activity peaked in the fourth quarter of 2025 and has been climbing steadily into 2026. He predicted that by 2026, the amount of transactions would have surpassed USD 13 billion.

In addition to private equity companies and family offices, a number of listed corporations have also begun to operate in India, according to Gaurav Sharma, MD hotels, India and senior director, hotels capital markets Asia at JLL. “All of them are looking for opportunities to invest, so the market will get stronger in India,” said he. Issues on a global scale persist, but investors as a whole are starting to accept this. He announced that further hotels were being signed and that new places were being investigated in India. “People are continuing to build and the signing activity is another indication that investors believe in the asset class.”

Travel demand and tourism are being supported, according to Ercan, by the robust domestic demand in India and other APAC economies. Investors see India as a promising market with room to develop. Strong sentiments characterise the region’s hospitality assets. He claimed it was the reason behind the high level of activity. “A sustained or prolonged conflict is not good for anyone, but the investors that we are talking to, see long-term potential and opportunity not just in India but across APAC markets as well.”

Image Credit: Hotel Investment Today