The Middle East/Africa hotel development pipeline includes 468 hotels comprising 126,464 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report released last week.
The Middle East/Africa hotel development pipeline includes 468 hotels comprising 126,464 rooms, according to the August 2009 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report released last week.
'In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates is exploding on the scene with four times the projects in the In Construction phase compared with its closest competitor, Saudi Arabia,' said Duane Vinson, vice president at STR. 'With 54 projects currently being built in Dubai alone, they are poised to be a major factor in the pipeline for years to come.'
The United Arab Emirates had 59,543 rooms in the total active pipeline, the largest amount of any country in the region. Saudi Arabia also accounted for a large portion with 11,110 rooms.
Four of the seven Chain-Scale segments accounted for over 80 percent of the rooms in the total active pipeline. The Luxury segment had the largest percent, accounting for 25.1 percent (31,706 rooms). The Unaffiliated segment made up 24.3 percent (30,739 rooms). The Upscale segment (21.2 percent and 26,829) and the Upper Upscale segment (17.2 percent and 21,791 rooms) also were responsible for a large portion of the total active pipeline. The Midscale without Food and Beverage segment accounted for the smallest portion of the total active pipeline: 1.2 percent and 1,503 rooms.
Middle East/Africa pipeline by Chain-Scale segment for August 2009 (number of rooms):
* Includes those projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning phases
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For more than 20 years, Smith Travel Research has been the recognized leader for lodging industry benchmarking and research. Smith Travel Research and STR Global offer monthly, weekly, and daily STAR benchmarking reports to more than 36,000 hotel clients, representing nearly 5 million rooms worldwide. STR is headquartered in Hendersonville, Tenn., and STR Global is based in London. For more information, visit www.smithtravelresearch.com or www.strglobal.com.
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