The study, carried out at the end of September 2022 by benchmarking company STR, found that the development keys total is equivalent to 40% of the represented nations’ existing footprint.
Productive pace
The GCC members consist of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Their collective hotel pipeline pace is a figure four times greater than the rest of the world, which STR quotes as being an 11% equivalent proportion of existing supply under active development.
The STR report estimates 135,560 existing rooms in Saudi Arabia with an active pipeline of 82,639 rooms, with total room inventory projected for 2030, at over 218,000 keys. Similarly for the UAE, STR currently tracks more than 202,000 existing rooms with an active pipeline of 48,910 rooms, a combined total of almost 251,000 rooms by 2030.
UAE leader
The UAE’s historic performance provides a blueprint of what the region can expect as new keys enter the market. Room supply increased by more than 70,000 between 2010 and 2019, a 68% uptick, or about 6% average annual growth.
Danielle Curtis, exhibition director, ATM, said: “Interestingly Ras Al Khaimah is second only to Dubai, with 5.076 rooms in its pipeline, almost the same amount as Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah combined.”
Robust pipeline
She analysed: “Between Expo 2020, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision2030 strategy, the GCC’s hospitality sector development pipeline remains robust in contrast to global hotel development, which is slowing, due to weak economic growth forecasts.
“While the hospitality sector’s growth does highlight the region’s increasing popularity on the global stage, it is also indicative of regional government strategy, to diversify GDP growth away from hydrocarbons into tourism, that will help to drive demand still further, over the coming years.”
High end prospects
According to the TOPHOTELPROJECTS database, there are currently at least 550 high end hotel projects underway in the entire Middle Eastern region.
One major site due to imminently deliver is Kerzner International’s Atlantis The Royal Resort and Residences in Dubai, with 795 keys within a spectacular 47-storey building. Other notable hotels to watch out for include Hard Rock Hotel Abu Dhabi, a 378-room skyscraper arriving in Q3 2023, and in the same quarter, 43-storey tower Waldorf Astoria Doha West Bay will add 336 rooms to Qatar’s capacity.
