Lodging Econometrics reported that the Middle East will see 99 new hotel openings with 25,829 hotel rooms in 2009, and most of the new openings will be occur in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Lodging Econometrics, an international firm that tracks all hotel real estate, forecasts that 110 hotels with 31,725 rooms will open in 2010. During the first quarter of 2009 68 new hotels with 11,924 guest rooms opened in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. About 28% of these rooms opened in the Middle East and 60% in Europe.
The Lodging Econometrics report concludes the global economic crisis “is having a serious impact on lodging development” due to the decrease in available credit and business and consumer travel. It forecast that new openings in the Middle East and Africa will accelerate each year through 2011 “as large iconic projects come online.”
