MEA hotel room construction down by 3.6% in Q2 compared to 2020
Regional construction activity was mainly driven by Saudi Arabia and the UAE
135,740 rooms were under construction in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region during Q2, down 3.6% compared to 2020 according to June pipeline data from STR.
The MEA region’s hotel construction market also witnessed a 9% drop in the number of rooms in the final planning stage for Q2, which hit 45,313 over last year, while the number of rooms in the planning stage fell 13.8% to 57,953. The region’s construction activity was mainly driven by regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia (39,362) and the UAE (37,954).
Globally, Europe remained the only region which registered a year-over-year increase in hotel rooms in construction. The European market witnessed a flurry of activity in the hotel construction sector, with a record 237,304 rooms under construction during the period, up 7.9% over last year, the report explained.
Germany (49,027) and the UK (36,444) were the main heavyweights leading European sector in total rooms in construction. Those in the final planning stage rose 13% to 177,165 rooms, while those in planning stage stood at 147,712 rooms, down 6.4% over last year, the report concluded.
