The Maldives’ hospitality industry is set to see its “highest ever” transaction level in 2019, with more than US$450 million ($622 milllion) worth of resort transactions either completed or under offer, according to real estate consultancy JLL.

Previously dominated by Asian investors, the Maldives is now attracting cross-border capital from Europe and the US, JLL says.

In the first quarter of 2019, the tourism market of the Maldives experienced a 15% y-o-y increase in visitor arrivals, according to the Ministry of Tourism. In January alone, arrivals from the largest regional source market of Europe rose by 9%. Other notable markets include India and the US, which saw increases of 86% and 44% y-o-y respectively.

“In the next nine to 12 months, we expect more of our European and American clients to enter the Maldives hospitality market,” says Charlie MacIldowie, vice president of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.

So far this year, JLL has brokered the sale of two hospitality brands. In April, German-based Seaside Hotels & Resorts acquired Finolhu Maldives, a resort in Baa Atoll, at an estimated US$90 million. In February, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort, part of Hilton Worldwide Holdings, was sold to American private equity giant Blackstone Group for an undisclosed sum.