Middle East hotel pipeline shows an 18.8% increase

STR's Middle East and Africa hotel pipeline for July 2016 is a positive indicator of the projects that have been signed over the last year, with both Africa and the Middle East demonstrating a pipeline increase.

The July 2016 Pipeline Report shows 155,899 rooms in 552 projects under contract in the Middle East and 56,227 rooms in 295 projects 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 under contract total in the Middle East represents an 18.8% increase in rooms under contract compared with July 2015, according to the report.

Specifically in the 'in construction' phase, the Middle East reported 83,194 rooms in 259 hotels, a 12.2% increase in year-over-year comparisons.

The under contract total in Africa represents a 23.8% increase compared with July 2015. In the 'in construction' phase, Africa reported 29,928 rooms in 155 hotels, a 21.3% increase in year-over-year comparisons.

Makkah and Dubai are still leading the pack when it comes to more than 20,000 rooms in construction: the former reported 21,835 rooms in 13 hotels, and Dubai hsd 20,882 rooms in 67 hotels.

Two additional markets reported more than 5,000 rooms 'in construction': Doha, Qatar (6,830 rooms in 30 hotels), and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (6,657 rooms in 30 hotels).