Offshore capital is pouring into Australia’s hotel sector despite average occupancy rates tumbling to 40 per cent around the country because of the latest Sydney lockdown, state border closures and uncertainty about when domestic travel will resume.

Analysts and hotel brokers said investors were taking a long-term view and and taking confidence from the historical performance of markets such as Sydney, which had average occupancy rates above 85 per cent prior to COVID-19, and which they expect to eventually bounce back.