A total of 156,460 rooms in 554 projects were registered under contract in the Middle East in August, a 20.1 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2015, said a report.

According to the STR August 2016 Pipeline Report, the Middle East also recorded a 14.1 per cent year-over-year increase in rooms in construction with 83,653 rooms in 261 hotels.

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

The STR report also highlighted the development in Africa, with 56,846 rooms in 300 projects under contract, a 25.4 per cent increase compared with August 2015. The continent also recorded 29,928 rooms in 157 hotels in construction for the month, a 22.6 per cent increase in year-over-year comparisons

Among the countries in the Middle East and Africa, Saudi Arabia reported the most rooms in construction with 35,611 rooms in 79 hotels. UAE followed with 28,082 rooms in 97 hotels. Four other countries each reported more than 3,000 rooms in construction: Qatar (7,980 rooms in 34 hotels), Egypt (6,128 rooms in 18 hotels), Jordan (3,161 rooms in 10 hotels) and Angola (3,157 rooms in 26 hotels).

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