Africa hotel construction impetus slumps as Middle East surges

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TR’s April 2019 pipeline data showed 424 hotel projects accounting for 125,052 rooms in construction in the Middle East and 141 projects and 25,056 rooms in construction in Africa.

The Middle East total represented a 9.3% year-over-year increase in the number of rooms in the final phase of the development pipeline. The Middle East reported an additional 30,203 rooms in the final planning stage and 45,991 rooms in planning.

The Africa total room construction total was down 7.1% year over year. Africa also showed 13,854 rooms in final planning and 26,534 rooms in planning.

Between the Middle East and Africa, four countries showed more than 4,000 rooms under construction. United Arab Emirates led with 56,701 rooms, which represented 33.6% of the country’s existing supply, followed by Saudi Arabia (42,571 rooms, 42.9% of existing supply).