Dubai: The Middle East and Africa has 630 hotels with 147,754 rooms under contract, global research firm, STR Global stated in its construction pipeline report for July, released on Friday.
The majority of the rooms under contract are in the upper upscale segment, with 53,794 rooms (36.4 per cent). The upscale segment followed, with 27,431 rooms, the luxury segment with 27,264 rooms and the unaffiliated segment with 20,577 rooms.
Meanwhile, the upper upscale segment accounted for the largest portion of rooms under construction, with 25,337 rooms, the luxury segment with 14,559 rooms and the upscale segment with 13,485 rooms.
STR Global states that the Middle East has the fastest growing pipeline in the world, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia accounting for around 68 per cent of the existing room supply in the region and about 70 per cent of the hotel rooms in the pipeline. It expects existing hotel room supply in the region to grow by 40 per cent.
A number of hotels are expected to open in the region this year, such as the Sheraton Grand hotel, Four Seasons Dubai and Marriott Kuwait City.
