A recent report by the W Hospitality Group, titled "Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa 2026," reveals that Africa's hotel development pipeline has reached an unprecedented level. Currently, there are 675 hotels and resorts in the planning stages, comprising a total of 123,846 rooms. This represents an impressive growth of 18.6% compared to the previous year, with a comparable growth rate of 12.2%. The majority of development activities are increasingly concentrated in a select few markets, with the top ten countries accounting for 79% of all planned rooms and more than 75% of new contracts.
Leading the charge is Egypt, which boasts 45,984 rooms across 185 projects, constituting more than one-third of the entire African pipeline and more than four times the number of rooms in Morocco, the second-ranked country with 10,606 rooms. Together, Egypt and Morocco now account for over 45% of all pipeline rooms, and their share continues to grow due to a significant number of new contracts being signed. Last year alone, Egypt secured 39 new deals and anticipates 33 hotel openings by 2026, underscoring the market's sustained momentum.
Trevor Ward, Managing Director of the W Hospitality Group, commented, "The data clearly indicate that Africa's hotel development narrative is being driven by a handful of exceptionally strong markets, with Egypt distinctly leading both in new agreements and projected openings." While North Africa dominates in terms of total volume, East Africa is taking the lead in projects that are being actively pursued and are expected to be completed in the short to medium term. Ward elaborated, "What stands out this year is East Africa's strength in projects that are actually progressing. Countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania show some of the highest construction rates on the continent, indicating that a significant portion of new supply will emerge here in the near future."
Currently, Ethiopia has 79.9% of its planned rooms under construction, Kenya 79.5%, and Tanzania 77.5%. In contrast, other regions such as Nigeria have a much lower percentage of projects underway, with only 39.2%, and Cape Verde at 8.6%. Overall, Egypt has 51.4% of its rooms under construction, Morocco 64.7%, Tunisia 63.8%, South Africa 67.2%, and Ghana 55.7%.
Despite forecasts of over 65,000 rooms expected to open in 2026 and 2027, historical completion rates suggest that actual completions may lag behind projections. This highlights the ongoing gap between ambition and implementation. A more in-depth analysis of these developments, including new contracts, construction progress, and expected openings, will be presented at the Future Hospitality Summit Africa, which will take place from March 31 to April 1 in Nairobi.
As reported by tip-online.at.
