The Middle East continues to have the largest hotel construction projects in the region globally, with most of these developments belonging to the high-end chain scales, a recent report has revealed.
Around 82% of the region’s projects ranged in the luxury, upper upscale and upscale chain scales, according to a recent study by Lodging Econometrics (LE). The total luxury hotel construction projects in the Middle East jumped 26% YOY to stand at a record 156 projects, totaling 33,346 rooms at the end of the third quarter of 2023.
Upper upscale projects and room counts also touched new highs of 160 projects/40,789 rooms, up 22% increase in projects YOY. Upscale hotel construction projects ended at 163 projects/41,339 rooms, the report said.
At the end of Q3 2023, the total hotel construction across the Middle East stood at 585 projects/139,582 rooms. Project counts improved by 9%, while room counts were up 3% YOY.
Projects under construction totaled 320 projects/83,760 rooms, while projects anticipated to start construction in the next 12 months totaled 103 projects/24,041 rooms, rising 18% by projects and 11% by rooms YOY. Projects in the early planning stage stood at 162 projects/31,781 rooms, up 27% and 22%, respectively, YOY.
Top five countries with the largest projects in the construction pipeline:
- Saudi Arabia — 275 projects/67,614 rooms
- A.E. — 107 projects/27,276 rooms
- Egypt — 91 projects/21,788 rooms
- Qatar — 35 projects/8,526 rooms
- Oman — 33 projects/6,598 rooms
With 66 projects/18,787 rooms, Dubai continues to dominate the construction pipeline in the U.A.E.
Cities with the highest hotel construction:
- Saudi Arabia’s Provincial region — 115 projects/25,333 rooms
- Riyadh — 87 projects with 16,498 rooms
- Jeddah — 51 projects/11,144 rooms
- Cairo — 33 projects/7,690 rooms
- Doha — 31 projects/7,690 rooms
Around 54% of the projects in the construction pipeline in the Middle East were found in these five cities.
Source: hotelsmag.com
