Industry experts expressed recently that, in spite of the global crisis, more foreign buyers are looking for hotel properties in Dubai for investment as returns stay high. However, sellers are very less and deals are in a weak position due to the difficulty in getting loans.

Amine Hamdani, manager and surveyor at global real estate service company CB Richard Ellis, explained, "If you compare five-star properties in Paris and Dubai, both well-located, your return on investment is much better in Dubai."

Today, Hamdani explained that Dubai properties can generate around 35 percent, while investors' net income for a property in France will be around 15 percent today.

As per the hotel consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, the International hotel investment could go down as much as 58.3 % to $10 billion in 2009, as the global financial crisis spreads to the leisure and tourism industry.

He explained that in Dubai, more international buyers were looking at investments in existing properties; however, a small number of owners were selling.

He concluded: "High net-worth individuals comprise the majority of buyers who look for high returns on investments, while institutional investors aim for nine to 11 per cent return."