Hospitality in Africa has grown in leaps and bounds. According to W Hospitality’s Hotel Chain Development Pipelines, an annual report that chronicles hotel development activity in the continent, the Africa hotel industry recorded a growth of 148 percent of pipeline hotels in the last 10 years. But there are even more intriguing statistics about the industry;
- From barely 144 hotels, representing almost 30,000 rooms in 2009, the African hotel pipeline has grown to 76,322 rooms in 418 hotels across different brands today.
- Africa had 62 million international arrivals in 2017, an 8 per cent increase on 2016 according to the UNWTO’s Travel Barometer.
- Africa’s hotels grew by 13.8 per cent in 2017), higher than other regions – Europe grew by 5.6 per cent, the United States by 3 per cent
- 18,000 rooms (23 per cent) are expected by the chains to open in 2018, and a further 16,000 in 2019.
- 97 new hotel deals have been signed since the beginning of 2017 to date, representing a slight improvement on the 86 hotels deals signed in 2016
According to the 2018 report, this growth the result of Africa presenting considerable opportunities for discerning global investors. Already, six of the world’s fastest growing economies in 2018 are in Africa, three of which are ranked among the Top 10 Countries by Number of Rooms and Pipeline status in the report.
The 2018 Report also shows that the continent recorded an overall 14 percent growth in 2018 with Egypt displacing Nigeria as leader in the Top 10 Countries by number of rooms. Egypt emerged top with 54 hotels and 13, 636 rooms followed by Nigeria with 9,603 rooms despite her 57 pipeline hotels.
Also, Cairo beat Lagos in the Top 10 Cities by Number of Planned Rooms with 6,478 rooms while Lagos trailed behind Addis Ababa’s 4,907 with 4,135 planned rooms in 2018. Over 2000 new rooms were signed in Egypt in 2017 led by Hilton Worldwide and InterContinental Hotel Group.
The surprise, according to the report, was Ethiopia, which made the third position on the list with massive increase in pipeline deals, of up from 20 in 2017 to 31 hotels in 2018 signed by international chains such as Accor Hotels, Hilton and regional chains like aha and Latitude.
Africa’s second largest economy, South Africa is in the fourth place with 37 new signings in 2018, representing 12 percent increase from on 2017.
Regionally, North Africa dominated the list with four out of five countries in the region in the Top 10 countries by number of planned rooms. Speaking on the report, Trevor Ward, CEO, W Hospitality, noted that the survey, which was first produced in 2009, witnessed 41 international and regional contributors, reporting pipeline activity of over 76,000 rooms in 418 hotels..
“We first produced the survey in 2009 with contributions from 19 international and regional hotel chains, who reported between them a pipeline of 144 hotels and almost 30,000 rooms. Our annual report on hotel development activity in Africa has become acknowledged as the most authoritative source on the growth of the hotel industry in Africa. And we are equally delighted to be closely involved in this African hotel success story – as well as, the research work we undertake, we have provided professional advice on a number of the deals included in the pipeline reports”, Ward said.
The W Hospitality CEO also noted that the growth trend in hotel development activities in Africa will continue in 2018 as economies hit by election uncertainties and recent economic depression work towards recovery and economic diversification. Of great importance also will be the increasing intra-African travel.
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Source; Businessday
