São Paulo – The Middle East and Africa were the only regions to finish 2022 with increased activity in the hotel sector. The movement went in the opposite direction to the rest of the world, which reported a drop. Data were released by STR, a consultancy specializing in the sector, and released this Thursday (19). Pictured above, Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.
Despite an expansion of just 1.1%, the Middle East and Africa stood out with 238,635 hotel rooms under construction in December 2022. The number comprises three types of rooms: Hotel rooms under construction, in final planning, and yet to be devised.
Most of the accommodations in the region are in the planning phase, with a growth of 11.5%, and in final planning, up 6%.
Arabs countries
Leading the rise in hotel room construction in the Middle East and Africa, Saudi Arabia accounted for 40,742 accommodations. Next came another Gulf country, the UAE, with 27,456 rooms.
According to the news website Arab News, the Saudi kingdom aims to attract 100 million visitors to its territory by the end of the decade as part of its Vision 2030 plan. The country has invested in megaprojects such as the ‘terayacht’ Pangeos and the city of Neom.
Worldwide
The growth of the hospitality sector recorded among Middle Eastern and African nations was opposite to results from in all other regions assessed by STR. Among them, Europe recorded an 11.2% drop. There was a 5.4% decline in Asia-Pacific, while the Americas shrank by 3.2%.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
