As many as 580 hotel projects with 166,774 rooms are under contract in the Middle East and 55,094 rooms in 299 projects are under contract in Africa, according to STR’s October 2017 Pipeline Report.
Under contract data includes projects in the in-construction, final planning and planning stages but does not include projects in the unconfirmed stage, STR said.
The under contract total in the Middle East represents a 5.1 per cent increase in rooms, compared with October 2016. Specifically in the in-construction phase, the Middle East reported 99,790 rooms in 314 projects. Based on number of rooms, that is an 18.1 per cent increase in year-over-year comparisons.
The under contract total in Africa represents a 4.6 per cent decrease in rooms compared with October 2016. In the in-construction phase, Africa reported 26,599 rooms in 149 projects. Based on number of rooms, that is an 11.4 per cent decrease in year-over-year comparisons.
Five key markets in the Middle East and Africa region reported more than 4,000 rooms in-construction. They inlcude: