Abu Dhabi: The Middle East is expected to see 154,576 new rooms in 550 hotels that are currently under contract, while Africa will see 55,736 new rooms in 289 hotels under contract.
According to the latest findings from STR, a data provider, the figures for under contract rooms in the Middle East in June 2016 represent a 23 per cent increase in rooms compared with June 2015. In Africa, the figures show a 29 per cent increase compared to June 2015.
Under contract data includes projects in the in construction, final planning, and planning stages but does not include projects in the unconfirmed stage.
Looking at the data for rooms under construction, STR said the Middle East recorded a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, reporting 81,951 rooms in 256 hotels under construction for the month.
Africa’s in construction data shows a 31.5 per cent year-on-year increase in rooms, reporting 30,703 rooms in 157 hotels under construction for the month.
Among the countries in the Middle East and Africa, Saudi Arabia reported the most rooms under construction, with 35,770 rooms in 81 hotels. It was followed by the UAE, which reported 26,989 rooms in 93 hotels under construction.
Qatar and Egypt also reported more than 5,000 rooms under construction, with 7,125 rooms in 30 hotels in Qatar, and 6,095 in 18 hotels in Egypt.
Earlier data from another data provider, HotStats, had shown challenges in the tourism sector of certain key cities in the region including Abu Dhabi where average room rates fell around 10 per cent in the first five months of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.