Dubai's Jumeriah Group in talks for hotel in Goa

Dubai's leading luxury hotel chain Jumeriah Group is planning a new venture in Goa ahead of the opening of its debut hotel in Mumbai in 2017.
"We're in serious discussions with the owner in Mumbai to do another hotel in Goa. It's culturally close, physically close (and) easy to administer from our head office in Dubai," said Gerald Lawless, Jumeirah Group CEO and President.
The company had signed a management agreement in the year 2012 to operate the 470-room property in Mumbai's Lower Parel district.
Now it is in negotiations with the same developer to open a second property in Goa, although there was currently no timeframe.

Talking to Arabian Business, Lawless said that Jumeirah was eager to expand further in India, but had struggled with overcoming bureaucratic obstacles in the country.
"The barriers to entry are high, which is one of the difficulties in India and even then when you do get that entry, the bureaucracy is so cumbersome for the developer it takes ages to get something up and running," he was quoted as saying.

A subsidiary of government-owned Dubai Holding, the group operates Dubai's luxury Burj Al Arab and hotels across the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
The company's top executive also informed that the hotel chain is also seeking opportunities to open hotels in Pakistan and Myanmar.

In addition, the company is in 'serious discussions' for properties in Saudi Arabia, and hopes to open hotels in Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar and Madinah, Lawless said.