There were 153,818 rooms in 546 hotels under contract in the Middle East in May, a 32.7 per cent increase compared with May 2015, said a STR report.

The STR May 2016 Pipeline Report said there were 56,413 rooms in 295 hotels under contract in Africa.

Under contract data includes projects in the in-construction, final planning and planning stages but does not include projects in the unconfirmed stage.

The Middle East reported 81,363 rooms in 252 hotels under construction for the month, a 18.7 per cent year-over-year increase in rooms in-construction.

The under contract total in the Northern Africa and Southern Africa subcontinents represents a 28.1 per cent increase compared with May 2015 and a 33.9 per cent year-over-year increase in rooms in-construction. Africa reported 30,737 rooms in 158 hotels under construction for the month.

Among the countries in the Middle East and Africa, Saudi Arabia reported the most rooms in construction 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: Qatar (7,298 rooms in 31 hotels), Egypt (6,111 rooms in 18 hotels) and Morocco (3,025 rooms in 16 hotels).

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