As per JLL, India recorded $567 million worth of hotel transactions in 2025, up 67% year-on-year.
In the first quarter of 2026, hotel transactions in the country touched $345 million, up from $98 million a year ago, putting India among the top five APAC markets for the first time, according to JLL data.
“The most active investment markets historically have been Japan, China, Korea, Australia and Singapore, and collectively these markets account for 70-80% of the transaction volume in the region,” said Nihat Ercan, CEO, Hotels and Hospitality Group, Asia Pacific at JLL. “But what is interesting is that in the first quarter of 2026, India has made it to the top five markets for the first time. Earlier, we were projecting India volumes to be worth about half a billion dollars in 2026, but if the quarter one momentum continues, we may get closer to seeing $1 billion worth of sales activity in 2026 in India,” he said.
As per JLL, in Q1 of 2026, Japan recorded about $1 billion worth of sales, China was at $724 million and South Korea at $471 million. India came in fourth at $345 million and Australia followed at $235 million. India accounted for 13% of the Q1 transaction volume for the region. “The total volume in 2025 was $10.8 billion for APAC, down 20% year-on-year, from $13.3 billion in 2024,” said Ercan. “We have seen a strong momentum in transaction activity in the last quarter of 2025 that has continued into 2026. We are expecting transaction activity in excess of $13 billion in 2026,” he said.
Gaurav Sharma, MD hotels, India, and senior director, hotels capital markets Asia at JLL, said that besides private equity firms and family offices, several listed entities have become active in India. “All of them are looking for opportunities to invest, so the market will get stronger in India,” he said. “Global issues keep cropping up, but the larger investment community is getting used to it. New destinations are being explored in India, and more hotels are being signed,” he said. “People are continuing to build and the signing activity is another indication that investors believe in the asset class.”
Ercan said domestic demand is buoyant in India and other APAC markets and that is helping sustain travel demand and tourism. “Investors are looking at India as a growth market. Sentiments for hospitality assets across the region are quite strong. That’s driving the volume of activity,” he said. “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.”