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Egypt and Morocco are the top two African countries for hotel room development pipelines, according to a new report.
Egypt currently has 85 hotels in its pipeline, comprising 21,281 rooms in total, while Morocco has 50 hotels in the pipeline, comprising 7,209 rooms, according to the survey by the W Hospitality Group with the African Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF).
Of Egypt’s hotels, 28.9 percent are under construction, while 77.4 percent of Morocco’s hotels are under construction.
Other North African countries in the top 10 for construction include Algeria, which is at number seven, with 15 hotels under construction, and Tunisia, at number eight, with 14 hotels under construction. The rest of the top 10 includes Ethiopia, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Senegal.
The report noted that 80,291 hotel rooms are being planned or constructed across the continent, but that there had been a reduction in development in sub-Saharan Africa. Cape Verde has seen an increase in planned hotel rooms, but Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa have all seen a reduction.
French hotel chain Accor, which owns and operates 54 brands from Novel to Fairmont, has the most planned hotels across the continent, at 107, followed by Marriott International, with 103.
Matthew Weihs, Managing Director of The Bench, which organises the AHIF, said, “While the hospitality industry has just been through the bleakest period in my professional career, it is fascinating to see that the pandemic has done nothing to dent long-term investor confidence in hospitality.
“If anything, the savviest financiers have seen it as an opportunity. They have been encouraged by enlightened governments, such as Morocco’s, which have spent billions on new infrastructure to incentivise investment in tourism.”
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)
