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Hotels Development In Sub-Saharan Africa Surges In 2015

Hotels Development In Sub-Saharan Africa Surges In 2015

From NBE

The 2015 Hotel Chain Development Pipeline Survey shows a surge in hotel development in Africa, with a jump in the development pipeline to 270 hotels and nearly 50,000 rooms, and with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) exceeding North Africa by almost 70%.

The survey is produced by W Hospitality Group, a vital strategic advisor to the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF).

The data reveal a modest recovery in North Africa and increasing confidence in SSA – only two years ago the number of rooms in the North African pipeline was the same as that in sub-Saharan Africa.

This year’s survey is based on contributions from 37 international hotel chains with 80 brands between them. The Sub Saharan Africa region has far more national markets than North Africa, 49 countries vs five1 and these have historically been underserved with branded hotels. It’s now time for them to catch up and they are:

Mauritania, for example, with no existing branded supply, now has three branded hotels in the development pipeline. Growth in the pipeline in North Africa has slowed considerably, impacted by unrest and political conflict. For example, Libya, a country which many groups were focusing on just two years ago, has seen no new hotel development deals. Egypt, which has traditionally been a major growth market, lost some projects to delays and  can cellations in 2014.

As a sub-region, West Africa has by far the greatest number of rooms in the pipeline, more than double East Africa. This is largely thanks to Nigeria, which became the largest economy on the continent in 2014 after it rebased its GDP figures. It has the largest population and the largest number of urban conurbations in one country, with the exception of South Africa.

Read more at NBE