The Middle East and Africa is set for a flood of new hotel construction this year.
Branded hotel chains are expected to claim the lion's share, according to the US-based STR Global.
There could be 133 more hotels with 34,931 rooms within the region in the rest of the year. Of these, 11,557 rooms in 39 hotels would come from unaffiliated hotels.
Among the branded hotel chains, the luxury segment would come up with 6,855 rooms, the upper upscale segment is expected to open some 6,950 rooms, and the upscale segment is expected to supply 6,639 rooms.
As per STR's classification, the luxury category includes the Thai chain Anantara, which has a presence in Abu Dhabi and would open a facility in Dubai in September, as well as the British hotel group InterContinental.
In the UAE the InterContinental Hotels Group has seven hotels in development, which includes three InterContinentals, one Crowne Plaza and three extended stay properties under the Staybridge Suites brand. All of them are scheduled to open three to five years down the line.
The Middle East and Africa region has 483 hotels totalling 118,713 rooms in the pipeline, according to an STR Global Construction Pipeline Report.
Next year, the market can expect about 140 hotels with 30,924 rooms to come online. Most of the rooms are expected to open in the upper upscale segment, with 11,269 rooms in 38 hotels, followed by the luxury segment with 6,186 rooms in 28 hotels, and the upscale segment with 5,909 rooms in 30 hotels, the report said.
