With the recent announcement that Cathay Pacific will operate a new direct Dublin – Hong Kong flight four times per week from June 2018, JLL Ireland expect the Irish Hotel Investment Market to see a significant boost.

Investment in Irelands Hotel Industry is expected to rise significantly, with Dublin Airports first ever direct route to the Asia-Pacific region also opening the pathways to connecting flights and locations such as Australia, Japan, mainland China and South-East Asia.

Commenting on the announcement, Dan O’Connor, Senior Vice President at JLL Hotels said: “Today’s announcement provides Ireland with direct access to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), which handled over 70 million passengers last year. Located within five hours flying time of half of the world’s population, this new Hong Kong route will not only bring new hotel guests, but also new hotel investors into the Irish market.

The Irish hotel market is already experiencing a significant influx in Asian hotel investors, particularly here in Dublin. JLL has recently brokered two Dublin hotel transactions with Asian hotel buyers in the past 9 months, one with a major Asian REIT and the other with a private Asian hotelier”.

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Dan O’Connor further added: “Asian property investors have a long history of making high profile and significant hotel investments, with the recent sale of the InterContinental Hong Kong for USD 938 million, also brokered by JLL, (pictured), marking one of the largest ever hotel sales in Asia. We expect further Asian capital sources to focus on potential Irish hotel investments after today’s announcement”.

Dublin’s status as a ‘New World City’, as found in JLL’s Global Hotel Industry report will be further enhanced with the new direct flights from Dublin to Hong Kong. Hotel occupancy, demand and revenue per available room are all expected to benefit.