There were 155,899 rooms in 552 hotel projects under contract in the Middle East in July this year, an 18.8 per cent increase compared with July 2015, said a report.

According to STR’s July 2016 Pipeline Report, the Middle Easr also reported a 12.2 per cent increase in year-over-year comparisons with 83,194 rooms in 259 hotels under construction for the month.

Under Contract data includes projects in the in construction, final planning and planning stages but does not include projects in the unconfirmed stage.

The STR report also highlighted the development in Africa, which reported 56,227 rooms in 295 projects under contract, a 23.8 per cent increase compared with July 2015. The continent also reported 29,928 rooms in 155 hotels under construction for the month, a 21.3 per cent year-over-year increase in rooms in construction.

Two of the key markets in the Middle East and Africa reported more than 20,000 rooms in construction: Makkah, Saudi Arabia (21,835 rooms in 13 hotels) and Dubai, UAE (20,882 rooms in 67 hotels). Two additional markets reported more than 5,000 rooms in construction: Doha, Qatar (6,830 rooms in 30 hotels), and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (6,657 rooms in 30 hotels).

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