The hotels sector in Africa is witnessing a remarkable development in hotel development projects. The 2024 “Hotel Development Plans” report revealed records in this field that sends optimism about the future of tourism and hostels on the continent.
According to the report issued by the W. Hosplitly Group, there are currently 577 hotels and resorts under development across the continent, with a total of 104 thousand and 444 rooms, which represents a significant increase of 13.3% compared to last year. This increase is a huge boom, as the increase in hotel projects globally exceeded in individual numbers.
A remarkable growth in North Africa
One of the most prominent trends showed by the report is the remarkable growth in North Africa, which witnessed a 23% annual increase in the development of hotels, compared to only 6% in sub -Saharan Africa.
This great growth reflects the increasing opportunities in the tourism sector in North Africa.
Egypt remains at the forefront of African countries in terms of hotel projects, as it includes 143 hotels, 33 thousand and 926 regions of development, which is equivalent to 4 times the number of rooms in Morocco, which is second with 8,579 rooms distributed over 58 hotels.
These figures confirm the strength and attractiveness of the Egyptian economy for international hotel investments.
Ethiopia between the top
Ethiopia is among the countries that emerge with the highest percentage of the rooms “under implementation” among the ten countries in the continent, which indicates that the percentage of planned hotels has increased, but actual progress may differ in some areas.
This indicates that the hotel project in some countries may face practical challenges that may affect the speed of implementation despite the encouraging numbers.
Market challenges
Despite Egypt’s superiority in the total numbers, the report reveals some of the challenges facing hotel projects in the country, as less than 50% of the rooms in the country are under construction, which is a low percentage compared to Morocco, in which the percentage of rooms under construction exceeded 72%.
In some countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, the report indicates that many projects have stopped due to political and financial problems, as construction work in some sites has stopped for long periods, and this raises concern about the ability of these markets to fulfill the expectations of the growth of the hotel sector.
International companies hegemony
Great international hotels chains continue to dominate the hostel sector in Africa. Marriott leads the list with 165 hotels with 29,639 rooms, followed by Hilton, which has 93 hotels with 17 thousand and 40 rooms.
It is also striking that Acor recorded 73 hotels with 15 thousand and 13 rooms, while Radison Group records 32 hotels and 6,346 rooms.
The competition between these companies is increasing. Hilton added more rooms to its plans in Africa compared to Marriott, while Parsilo recorded a significant growth in the number of new projects in North Africa, which reflects the increasing interest in this market.
New growth trends
One of the most prominent trends that the report reveals is the great growth in hotel projects in the franchise system (Franchise). This system has become 19% of new projects, compared to less than 10% in 2020.
This is due to the increased confidence in global companies such as Alf Hosplitly and Valor Hospallite, which has proven its ability to maintain international brand standards in local markets.
The tourist resorts sector is also witnessing a great development, as the resorts projects outperform the urban hotels.
The size of resorts projects is usually larger, with an average of 210 keys compared to 170 urban hotels.
Indeed, many hotels that opened last year have witnessed a significant increase in the number of projects at resorts sites.
The future of the hotel sector
Numbers show that the future of the hotels sector in Africa carries great potential. Trevur Ward, CEO of the Group WW HosplitiThe fact that despite the challenges facing some countries, the opportunities are still great.
According to the study of the World Cities Institute, it is expected that 10 of the 16 largest cities in the world will be in Africa by 2100, which means that the continent will remain a major center for hotel investment in the future.
The signing of 125 new transactions last year by 21 thousand rooms confirms the continuous momentum in growth and expansion in this sector.
