JEDDAH: The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region hotel development pipeline comprises 432 hotels totaling 118,454 rooms, said the February 2011 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report. Among the markets in the region, Abu Dhabi, UAE, will report the largest increase in supply (89.4 percent) if every one of the 13,405 additional rooms in its total active pipeline open. Other markets to expect significant increases in existing supply include: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (77.2 percent with 4,831 rooms in its total active pipeline); Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (50.5 percent with 3,033 rooms); Muscat, Oman (49.5 percent with 1,931 rooms); and Dubai, UAE (49.2 percent with 28,474 rooms). "The main activity of hotel development in the region takes places across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman", said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global. "Selected markets will see more than half of their current supply entering the markets over the coming years. Whilst the long-term prospects for the region are good, the new supply will create more challenging market conditions for the short-term. We see a more diverse offering coming into the markets, which were so far dominated by the upscale to luxury properties".
