Number of planned hotel rooms in Africa increases to 64,000 – Survey

A survey of hotel rooms in Africa says the number of planned rooms on the continent has grown to 64,000 in 365 hotels, a 30 per cent increase on the previous year.T

The annual W Hospitality Group Hotel Chain Development Pipeline Survey, by Bench Events, an organization that describes itself as a hotel investments conference organizer, found that the increase is largely due to strong growth in sub-Saharan Africa, which is up 42.1 per cent in 2015 and is significantly outstripping North Africa which achieved only a modest 7.5 per cent pipeline increase this year.

Citing the IMF forecast for economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, put an increase of 4 per cent this year and 4.7 per cent in 2017, up from 3.5 per cent in 2015, the survey noted that, “overall this is down on the 5-6 per cent increase enjoyed over the past decade, but it’s still double or more the forecast for the world’s advanced economies, such as Europe, the USA and Japan.”

“The evidence from our survey is clear – investors remain confident about the future of the hospitality industry on the continent. Even when pummelled daily by low commodity prices, exchange rate problems, political challenges and poor infrastructure, Africa remains resilient,” Trevor Ward, W Hospitality Group managing director was quoted as saying in a statement.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi