Africa’s hotel development pipeline has surged to a record 123,846 rooms across 675 planned properties, but a new report shows that Egypt and Morocco alone accounting for more than 45 percent of all rooms under development.
The 2026 Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa report by W Hospitality Group seen by APA on Wednesday shows an 18.6 percent year‑on‑year increase in planned rooms, signalling strong investor appetite.
Yet the expansion is far from evenly spread.
The top 10 African countries where hotels are being developed now hold 79 percent of all pipeline rooms and more than three‑quarters of new signings. These are Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana.
Egypt remains the undisputed leader, with 45,984 rooms across 185 projects. This translates to 47 percent of the 97,978 rooms under development.
Morocco is a distant second with 10,606 rooms in the pipeline followed by Nigeria (8,480), Kenya (6,190), Ethiopia (5,964), Cape Verde (4,328), Tunisia (4,189), Tanzania (4,159), South Africa (4,136) and Ghana (3,942).
Egypt also secured 39 new deals last year and expects 33 hotel openings in 2026, reinforcing its dominance.
W Hospitality Group managing director Trevor Ward said the data show Africa’s development story is being “driven by a handful of high‑performing markets.”
While North Africa leads in volume, East Africa is advancing fastest in construction progress.
Ethiopia and Kenya each have nearly 80 percent of their pipeline rooms already under construction, followed closely by Tanzania at 77.5 percent.
The report also highlights the concentration of activity among global operators. Marriott, Hilton, Accor, IHG and Radisson collectively account for about 80 percent of all pipeline rooms on the continent.
A deeper analysis of the trends will be presented at the Future Hospitality Summit Africa in Nairobi from 31 March to 1 April.
JN/APA