The Q1 2024 Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report for the Middle East from Lodging Econometrics (LE) reveals, at Q1, the hotel construction pipeline in the region increased to 612 projects/144,222 rooms, up 5% by projects year-over-year (YOY).
At Q1 2024, projects currently under construction stand at 302 projects/80,589 rooms. Projects scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months stand at 133 projects/30,447 rooms, up 28% by projects YOY and 24% by rooms YOY. Projects in the early planning stage stand at 177 projects/33,186 rooms, up 18% by projects and 12% by rooms YOY. New project announcements in the Middle East at the first quarter close stand at 44 projects/8,346 rooms, while new construction starts stand at 24 projects/5,733 rooms.
LE analysts report that, at Q1, top Middle Eastern countries with the greatest number of projects are Saudi Arabia, with a record 318 projects, accounting for 75,761 rooms, and Egypt with record-high counts of 103 projects and 24,731 rooms. Following distantly are the United Arab Emirates with 89 projects/22,849 rooms, Qatar with 32 projects/8,053 rooms and Oman with 32 projects/5,939 rooms.
Cities in the Middle East with the largest pipelines at Q1 are led by the Provincial region with 144 projects/30,266 rooms, Riyadh with record-high counts of 93 projects and 18,715 rooms, Jeddah with a record 59 projects/12,262 rooms, Cairo with 40 projects/8,760 rooms and Doha with 29 projects/7,365 rooms. Sixty percent of the projects and 54% of the rooms in the region’s total construction pipeline are located within these five cities.
During the first quarter, the Middle East opened 21 new hotels/3,663 rooms. LE is forecasting an additional 86 new hotels/17,748 rooms to open throughout the remainder of the year for a total of 107 new hotels/26,743 rooms to open by year-end 2024. By year-end 2025, LE analysts forecast another 101 new hotels/26,743 rooms to open across the Middle East.
