Mexico is among the destinations with the highest-spending travelers—not only from North America but also Russia these days. Timothy Barton, Dallas-based president and CEO of JMJ Holdings, which has 50% of the forthcoming Rosewood Mayakoba, expects to announce his second project there within the next few weeks.

Las Vegas and Macau continue to excite on the gaming side, and now they might well have serious competition. Hungary has made gaming legal, which is providing a windfall for the Vienna-based entrepreneurial company Asamer Group. Asamer already owns two hotels in Austria, the Schlosshotel Freisitz Roith at Lake Traunsee and Hotel Schloss Mondsee, near Salzburg—and now plans to go bigger. It had conveniently purchased 600 acres (243 ha) of land in Bezenye, Hungary, near the Austrian and Slovak borders. It now has sold 80% of its interest to a consortium formed of Chicago-based Guggenheim Partners LLC, James Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd., Sydney, and Eighth Wonder, Las Vegas. At this stage, plans include at least five integrated resorts (casino-hotels) with Credit Suisse First Boston raising money from hedge funds.

It is quite possible that Kingdom Hotel Investments, Dubai, will be making further purchases in Africa. The company's CEO Sarmad Zok points out that there is already a US$50 billion annual trade link between China and the African continent, so hotels in key industrial cities in Africa are going to benefit, and sometimes hugely.

One of the most noticeable trends outside of the United States right now is the growth of family-friendly properties. There will be rapid expansion of this concept in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, says Riyadh-based HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, secretary general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism in Saudi Arabia.

Related to this is the growth of hotels that strongly follow shariah principles, which include a ban on alcohol. Christopher Hartley, Geneva-based CEO of Shaza Hotels, already has seven projects at the drawing-board stage. Shaza Hotels, funded by Capital Guidance, Paris, was announced only a year ago and had planned slow growth, to reach about 15 operating properties by the year 2013, but everything is happening much faster than expected, Hartley says. Similarly, Bahrain-based Air Transport and Tourism Associates, led by CEO Mohamed Buzizi, is working on two shariah-compliant hotels in his country. These are backed by Ithmar Bank, Bahrain.

Ed Fuller, president and managing director, international lodging, for Marriott International, denies published reports that his company has already agreed to go into Kabul, Afganistan. He is, however, looking seriously at Syria.

India continues to be a magnet. Singapore-based Christopher Wong, newly elevated vice president for business development in Asia Pacific, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, is especially keen on Goa, Hyderabad and Kerala. Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Singapore, is looking at Goa and Uttar Pradesh. He is also ready to expand his portfolio, which has made its name in the luxury resort sector, into city hotels. Banyan Tree took back management of the former 230-room Westin Bangkok in 2001, and now Ho is keen to expand into other cities.

Six Senses Hotels, Resorts & Spas, Bangkok, is also keen to get into some urban settings. Managing Director Bernhard Bohenberger says that Six Senses will be developing an Evason Hideaway on the Con Dao archipelago off South-East Vietnam (the islands were an important staging post on the Silk Route and were at one time used by the French as a penal colony). To allow easier incoming and outgoing transfers both to this and the company's other Vietnamese properties, Six Senses would like to have hotels in the two feeder cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

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