Dubai, UAE -Taking advantage of the boom in the tourism sector in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are engaged in frantic construction activity to build new hotels in order to cope with the rush of visitors.
According to a report by STR, Saudi Arabia is involved in the largest hotel construction activity in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), followed by the UAE.
The kingdom, the biggest economy in the Middle East, tops the regional MEA list with 42,033 hotel rooms, followed by the UAE with 22,324 rooms.
STR said the most of the region’s pipeline activity is focused in the Middle East, adding 119,505 rooms were under construction in the MEA, down 5.8% year-on-year, in March 2023.
The region has 45,529 rooms, up 20.4% year-on-year, in the final planning stage, with 84,116 rooms, an increase of 21.2% year-on-year, in the planning phase.
Last week, STR reported that Abu Dhabi and Dubai hotels are estimated to achieve occupancy above 80% during the Eid Al-Fitr holidays.
The region’s hotel pipeline outlook remains healthy, with almost 250,000 hotel rooms currently under contract.
Saudi Arabia ranks third, after China and the US in terms of the number of hotel rooms currently being built. China is constructing some 299,458 rooms while the US has started work on 154,284 new hotel rooms.
