Looking for a hotel on the African continent? That search is about to get much easier.
Forty-six new hotels were under construction there at the beginning of 2016, according to research group STR global, and another 275 are in the planning phase.
Nigeria is doing most of the building — as of 2015 the country had 51 new hotel developments in the pipeline, with Morocco a close second with 31 hotels in the works.
“In a lot of pockets in sub Saharan Africa there’s a lack of supply; there are major cities where there is only one or no branded hotels,” says Thomas Emanuel, director of business development at STR Global.
He says growing economies have fueled this construction.
“There has been growth in many African economies, for example staggering GDP growth in Ethiopia.
“We’re also seeing better inter-connectivity, and a growing middle class who are able to travel and spend and need somewhere to stay. The hotel operators are well aware of the opportunities and are moving in.”
The vast majority of these operators are established international groups, some of which already have hotels in African countries, and are expanding their business there.
Challenges
Emanuel says there are, however, also some challenges.
“We looked at two parts [of Africa] northern Africa and sub Saharan. At the moment northern is performing badly, people are not going to Egypt on holiday, flights are not landing at Sharm [el sheikh.]
Morocco seems to be guilty by association and tarred with the same brush, he adds, and in sub-Saharan Africa there are also security concerns.
But Emmanuel sees a bright future overall for the African hotel industry.
“The international brands know what they’re doing — they are going to go to places where they know they can sell hotel bedrooms and they obviously think that Africa is where they can do that.”
