Jamaica might not seem like the most obvious place for Middle Eastern money to go, but it has nevertheless been attracting an unusual amount of interest from Gulf investors.

Gulf investors with an eye on the global tourism market have been probing the potential of a number of Caribbean locations and though a lot of money has gone into places such as the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and the Caymans, Jamaica has not gone unnoticed.

It has also attracted a lot of attention from investors who have been looking to take advantage of the surge in global commodity prices as the demand for sugar, coffee and minerals escalates. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite and alumina and this is what has drawn the attention of investors.

John Browne, managing director of Sabban Property Investments, said the company was going to invest around $220,000 in three carbon-offsetting projects, one of which would be located in Jamaica. Qatar-based Sabban said the energy-efficiency project in Jamaica would help make the $330 million Sabban Towers, which is part of the $2.5 billion Pearl Qatar project, the first carbon-neutral project in the Middle East.

Jamaica’s tourism minister Edmund Bartlett recently met with UAE-based property developer Nakheel, as well as Jumeirah, the company behind the eponymous seven star Burj Al Arab hotel, to talk about investing in the Caribbean nation. The Jumeirah Group already has interests in the Caribbean, where it owns the Jumeirah Southland Resort in Bermuda.

Bartlett told the Observer newspaper from Jamaica that, "We had solid preliminary discussions with people in the emirates with regards to investing in tourism in Jamaica."

The Jamaican government recently began changing the tax laws to encourage investment in real estate. Audley Shaw, the minister of finance, said stamp duty on property transactions would be lowered from 5.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent and that the tax on property transfers would fall from 7.5 per cent to 6 per cent. Real estate prices in Jamaica have risen at anywhere between 30 and 50 per cent since 2005.

Spain is currently the biggest investor in Jamaica. It has invested close to $2 billion, mostly in hotels and service industries. Grupo Iberostar has already allocated some of its $300 million budget on a leisure project in Jamaica which would include three hotels.

Sabina Fluxá Thienemann, vice president of Grupo Iberostar told the Observer, “We will have 1,000 rooms in Montego Bay and our investment in Jamaica will come to $260 million. Our hotels are five star and we have differentiated all three products. The first is the Iberostar Hotel, the second is Iberostar All Suite Resort and the third will be a new category we launched two years ago which is the Grand Iberostar Hotel. This focuses on the high-end market and is for adults only. Here we offer premium brands and 24-hour butler service.”

It is these kinds of investments that have drawn the attention of Middle Eastern investors. Last year’s tourist season saw a record number of arrivals in Jamaica, with numbers up by nearly 15 per cent, with around 1.2 million visitors passing through over the winter period. As Ziggy Marley, the son of legendary singer Bob Marley said, “Let them come, be in their paradise.”