Opportunity Is Where You Find It

The news the last few weeks about the American financial markets and economy has been bleak, and in the last week I have had a chance to talk to several colleagues in the design and development business who have expressed concern as new projects have fallen off, or delayed significantly. 

Despite troubling economic times in the U.S., diversification is always important. Where we have been lucky is having spent many years developing our relationships with developers and operators around the world. I am in Madrid right now to finalize our documentation to open up the Puccini Group company and offices in Spain with a strategic reach throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. We have a similar relationship in Moscow to help with Russian developments.
 
Growth is still alive and well in worldwide markets, particularly smaller markets where there is high demand and very low supply. Emerging markets, developing markets, and markets we had not even heard about a few years ago are seeing tourism and resorts as a means to their long term economic growth–places such as Dubai, Brazil and Russia. Cities now see that a world class 4- or 5-star hotel is a must to continue to compete with other cities for conferences, business and tourism. Now is a time not for pessimism but to seize new opportunities, to break out of our comfort zones, to look for new markets and to keep looking toward the future of the business.
 
The world is no longer confined by some of the geographical and cultural boundaries of the past, and thanks to the Internet and some travel, now it is just about as easy to work in Mumbai as in Miami. The world is continually evolving and creating new niches for tourism.  There are still opportunities out there; it all depends on where you look.