The July hotel pipeline data released by marketplace insights provider STR showed a total of 427 projects accounting for 123,742 rooms in construction in the Middle East and 138 projects and 25,986 rooms in construction in Africa.

The Middle East total represented a 2.1 per cent year-over-year increase in the number of rooms in the final phase of the development pipeline. The region reported an additional 30,240 rooms in the final planning stage and 45,948 rooms in planning.

The Africa room construction total was down 1.8 per cent year over year. Africa also showed 17,485 rooms in final planning and 23,954 rooms in planning.

Between the Middle East and Africa, four countries showed more than 4,000 rooms under construction. The UAE led with 54,438 rooms, which represented 31.8 per cent of the market’s existing supply, followed by Saudi Arabia (41,207 rooms, 40.5 per cent of existing supply).

1.    UAE: 54,438 rooms (31.8 per cent)
2.    Saudi Arabia: 41,207 rooms (40.5 per cent)
3.    Qatar: 14,518rooms (53.5 per cent)
4.    Oman: 4,589 rooms (24.1 per cent)
5.    Egypt: 4,100 rooms (2.4 per cent) – TradeArabia News Service