While a number of 2014 World Cup infrastructure projects across Brazil struggle to stay on schedule, the anticipated and much needed surge of investments in the hotel sector to cater for the event has well and truly kicked off, with the country now one of the global hot spots for new hotel developments.
Research company Lodging Econometrics reports that Brazil’s pipeline of new hotel projects is now the world’s fourth-largest, with its 177 ongoing developments comprising more than 29,000 rooms placing it behind only the US, China and India.
As reported previously, all 2014 Cup host cities except Sao Paulo suffer from a lack of hotels according to predicted requirements, with Rio de Janeiro´s aging accommodation options particularly worrying given its importance to the event and as host of the Olympics just two years later.
Beyond Brazil, other South American countries are also attracting strong interest, with the 109 ongoing projects a 20% rise on last year, according to Lodging; Colombia and Peru figure high on the list of developments.