Hotel Development Soars in Saudi Arabia and UAE

According to data from STR Global, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leading the Middle East region in rooms under contract.

The Middle East overall is the fastest growing region in the world, with 99,199 rooms under contract. Existing room supply is expected to grow by 40%.

The overall picture of development in the Middle East shows a clear differentiation between the strongest countries, in terms of supply and rooms under contract. The UAE and Saudi Arabia combined accumulate to 68% of the existing room supply in the Middle East, where STR Global tracks 13 countries. These two countries also account for 70% of rooms in the region’s pipeline.

Despite the 12-month moving average supply growth rate of the UAE (+8.2%), Saudi Arabia has a stronger pipeline in terms of rooms under contract. The amount of rooms under contract in Saudi Arabia (35,587 rooms) is slightly more than the total in the UAE (34,226 rooms). This would mean a 60% supply growth in Saudi Arabia and a 32% supply growth in the UAE.

In Saudi Arabia, the Upscale and Upper Midscale hotels lead with the most rooms under contract, while the Luxury and Upper Upscale hotels top the most rooms under contract in the UAE.

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