Middle East crisis could drive travellers to India

Hotels of Thailand headquartered Minor International are 'suffering' in the Middle East, but the conflict there could lead to an upward interest in India, said William E. Heinecke, founder and chairman of Minor International, that runs hotels, restaurants, and lifestyle brands, in an interview with ET. Minor International is the parent company of Minor Hotels.

“There is no question that the war in the Middle East is affecting bookings and air travel. We are seeing postponements in the Middle East for the second quarter running into the fourth quarter. But, the positive side is that we have seen many more Indian enquiries coming into Asia that could have gone to the Middle East.,” said Heinecke.

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“People aren’t really stopping travel. They are rearranging and postponing it. We are also benefiting from business moving into other parts of the world. Everyone is seeking safer alternatives, and we also expect travellers in Asia and Australia to probably look at increased travel to India as opposed to the Middle East. In the near term, there is going to be an upward interest in India as a result of what is happening in the Middle East," he added. Minor Hotels currently operates over 640 hotels, resorts and branded residences across 63 countries across brands such as Anantara, NH Collection, Tivoli and Avani.

Minor Hotels plans to have 50 hotels in India by the next decade and has announced the signing of its first resort hotel in Coorg this week under the Anantara brand besides a 170-key Anantara hotel at the upcoming World Trade Center in Kolkata that is slated to open in 2032. The company currently runs the Anantara Jewel Bagh Jaipur, and has also signed an Avani‑branded resort in Visakhapatnam.

"The economic growth of India is creating a huge domestic demand that isn’t being met fully. Unlike China, India hasn't really fully developed yet. It's like a blue ocean and everyone is taking advantage of that," said Heinecke.

“We are pursuing a number of opportunities in India. We have had very serious discussions that have been ongoing for some time with several owners. So, we hope to announce a number of projects shortly that will complement the ones which are already public,” he added.

Heinecke said the company is also seeing a surge in interest for branded residential projects in Thailand from investors in markets such as India and China besides the Middle East.

“Thailand is seen as a safe haven and the same applies to markets such as Malaysia and Indonesia where we have branded residences. During the Ukraine Russia war, which still continues, we saw a lot of people coming to Thailand to make long term residential investments,” he said. “There is similar interest during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. “There are a number of tax expatriates in markets like India and the UK who can spend a limited amount of time in their own country and they need a second home,” he added.

67% of the company's hotels globally are either owned or leased, and the rest 33% are under asset light arrangements. Heinecke said the company would like to change that mix to a 50:50 ratio.

“Most of our projects in India are going to be asset light. But, we will also look at opportunities where we can make an investment as we look at India as a high growth country,” he said.

“There are some second tier cities where we see fantastic opportunities and we are exploring those. Because of the uniqueness of India and the demand for domestic travel, we will also move to tier one and tier two markets fairly quickly at the same time,” he added.