Over 130 MEA hotels to open in 2013

The Middle East and Africa region is expected to open a further 133 hotels this year, according to new figures released by STR Global.

The industry data specialist said 11 hotels were opened in the first quarter of the year, adding 1,683 rooms.
It added that another 34,931 rooms will be added to the region in the remainder of 2013.

STR Global said the Middle East/Africa hotel development pipeline for March comprises 483 hotels totalling 118,713 rooms.

In 2014, STR Global said 141 hotels are expected to open with 30,924 rooms. The most rooms are expected to open in the Upper Upscale segment (11,269 rooms in 38 hotels), followed by the Luxury segment (6,186 rooms in 28 hotels) and the Upscale segment (5,909 rooms in 30 hotels).

The total active pipeline data includes projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages but does not include projects in the Pre-Planning stage.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region led the world in hotel price increases, according to HotelsCombined’s latest Hotel Price Trends Report.

The year-over-year report compared rates from December, January and February 2011/2012 to December, January and February 2012/2013 and found that hotels in the region increased in price by 8% compared to the global average of 4 %.