AFRICA – Research released by W Hospitality Group, a founding member of Hotel Partners Africa (HPA), claims there are 40,000 rooms being planned or constructed on the African continent from now to 2017. The top city for construction, according to the research, is Lagos, Nigeria, which has 4,080 rooms in development. This is followed by two Egyptian destinations, Cairo, with 2,843 rooms and Hurghada with 2,221 rooms.
The next most popular places are Abuja (1,598 rooms), Algiers (1,528 rooms), Tangier (1,505 rooms) and Nairobi (1,437 rooms).
Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa Continent for Marriott International, says the African continent presents Marriott International with “substantial opportunities for growth”.
“With one billion people, the majority of whom are Gen X and Y, seven of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world and very low penetration by branded hotels, the opportunity for the hospitality industry to support the demand for travel, as the middle classes grow from 300m today to one billion by 2050, is key to the continent’s economic success and the prosperity of its people,” says Kryiakidis.
W Hospitality Group and HPA Founder, Trevor Ward (pictured), adds: “The most interesting thing to look at in the numbers is not so much the scale of the development pipeline but how things are changing from city to city. Lagos and Abuja contribute to Nigeria being the No.1 country, but delays in completing hotels there can be extreme, and not all of the pipeline can be said to be certain to happen.
“Two Egyptian cities are in the top three and four are in the top 20 but note that several projects were commenced before the most recent uprisings. In Marrakech, growth has slowed, but several new hotels have recently opened there, and development in Addis Ababa is taking off.”
Some African capital cities that seem not to be getting the attention that they deserve, include Luanda, Abidjan, Khartoum and Kampala.
Luanda, the capital of Angola, has only three hotels in the development pipeline and, says Ward, it is “not for want of trying by the hotel chains, almost all of whom have been looking for deals there for several years”.
Abidjan only reports two projects in the pipeline (432 rooms). The return of the headquarters of the African Development Bank, scheduled for 2014, will bring with it about 2,000 employees and will attract many visitors, who all will require international-standard accommodation.
The trends and challenges of hotel development in Africa will be scrutinised in detail at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), which takes place in Nairobi, 23-25 September 2013. AHIF 2012 attracted 426 delegates from 38 countries and the conference is organised again by Bench Events.
In other Africa-related news, Reed Travel Exhibitions, says that 1,320 of the international buyers who attended its EIBTM 2012 show in Barcelona confirmed a direct interest in placing business in Africa and also announced the launch of a dedicated Africa Pavilion at the 2013 edition of the event.
The Africa Pavilion will provide an area on the show floor for suppliers to showcase their products to an expected 15,000 meetings industry professionals. Suppliers exhibiting in the pavilion will also be provided with a pre-scheduled diary of appointments with Hosted Buyers who have expressed interest in placing business in Africa.
In the past 10 years, six of the world’s fastest-growing economies have been in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to The Economist magazine. Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Chad, Mozambique and Rwanda, all showed annual growth rates of around eight per cent or more, in that period.
Graeme Barnett, Reed Travel Exhibitions, Senior Exhibition Director, EIBTM said: “We are delighted to be introducing the Africa Pavilion to EIBTM for the first time this year. The decision has been made due to the increased demand for African exhibitors that we have witnessed from our Hosted Buyers in recent years, with many specifying an interest in Africa as a destination for meetings and incentive trips.
“We also have a number of additional business and networking opportunities available at this year’s EIBTM which will further facilitate the business links between Africa and the rest of the world. Exhibitors will also receive additional support in terms of marketing and exposure, increasing value and return on investment.”
EIBTM 2013 takes place from 19 – 21 November in Barcelona.
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