Tuesday, Jun 14, 2016

Dubai: There were 153,818 rooms in 546 hotels under contract in the Middle East and 56,413 rooms in 295 hotels under contract in Africa in May 2016, according to the latest report from research firm STR Global.

Rooms under contract in the Middle East rose 32.7 per cent last May compared to May 2015, while room in construction grew 18.7 per cent year-on-year to 81,363 rooms in 252 hotels, STR said in the May 2016 Pipeline Report.

The number of rooms under contract in the region increased compared to last March, when there were 151,654 rooms in 536 hotels under contract, up 40.9 per cent compared to March last year. Rooms in construction jumped 42.7 per cent year-on-year in March in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, rooms under contract in Northern Africa and Southern Africa rose 28.1 per cent last May compared to May 2015, while rooms in construction grew 33.9 per cent year-on-year to 30,737 rooms in 158 hotels.

However in March, there were 61,585 rooms in 317 hotels under contract in Africa, an increase of 46.1 per cent year-on-year. Rooms in construction, meanwhile, rose 48 per cent year-on-year.

Among the countries in the Middle East and Africa, Saudi Arabia reported the most rooms in construction in May with 34,680 rooms in 77 hotels. The UAE followed with 27,344 rooms in 93 hotels. Three other countries each reported more than 3,000 rooms in construction, including Qatar (7,298 rooms in 31 hotels), Egypt (6,111 rooms in 18 hotels) and Morocco (3,025 rooms in 16 hotels).

Staff Report

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