Northstar

The Indispensable Travel Industry Read Feature Highlight Hotels and Resorts to look out for in 2011 Vol. 2 Issue 12 | 29 March 2011 | www.travelweeklyweb.com | Published by Travel & Meetings Group, Ten Alps Communications Asia Pte Ltd Asia Pacifi c sees 1,096 hotels in the pipeline Editor's Pick NIYAMA, Maldives News Page 2 Miniloc Island Resort According to the February 2011 STR Global Construction Pipeline Repor t, the Asia Paci f ic hotel development pipeline comprises 1,096 hotels totalling 274,648 rooms. Among the key markets in the region, Shanghai, China, reported the largest number of rooms in the In Construction phase with 9,050 rooms. Other markets to report a significant number of rooms in the construction phase include: New Delhi, India (5,804 rooms); Bangkok, Thailand (4,510 rooms); Beijing, China (3,682 rooms); and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2,998 rooms). Caribbean / Mexico Hotel Pipeline for February 2011 The Caribbean / Mexico hotel development pipeline comprises 131 hotels totaling 19,136 rooms. Among the countries in the region, Mexico reported the largest number of rooms in the In Construction phase with 6,418 rooms. Other countries to report a significant number of rooms under construction include: the Bahamas (1,424 rooms); the Dominican Republic (1,280 rooms); Aruba (320 rooms); and St. Lucia (259 rooms). "Not surprisingly, with 6,418 rooms under construction, Mexico has the highest number of rooms in the In Construction phase of the Caribbean/Mexico pipeline," said Lana Yoshii, VP of content management at STR. "However, because they have the most number of open rooms , they are only expecting a 2.2 percent increase in supply when these projects open. The Bahamas has the second highest volume of rooms in construction (1,424 rooms) but will see an 8.7 percent increase in existing supply when those rooms open. Central / South America Hotel Pipeline for February 2011 The Central / South America hot el deve lopme nt pi p e l i n e comprises 144 hotels totalling 22,438 rooms, according to the February 2011 STR Global Construct ion Pipeline Report. Among the Chain Scale segments, the Upscale segment accounted for the largest portion of rooms in the total active pipeline with 29.1 per cent (6,523 rooms), followed by the Upper Upscale segment (21 per cent with 4,708 rooms) and the Midscale segment (20.8 per cent with 4,670 rooms). The Economy segment reported the smallest portion of rooms in the total active pipeline with 1.5 per cent and 340 rooms. Middle East / Africa Hotel Pipeline for February 2011 The Middle East / Africa hotel development pipeline comprises 432 hotels totalling 118,454 rooms. Among the markets in the region, Abu Dhabi, UAE, will report the largest increase in supply (89.4 per RCI looks to cover new ground in Asia's shared ownership industry Page 8 cent) if every one of the 13,405 additional rooms in its total active pipeline open. Other market s to expect significant increases in existing supply include: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (77.2 per cent with 4,831 rooms in its total active pipeline); Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (50.5 per cent with 3,033 rooms); Muscat, Oman (49.5 per cent with 1,931 rooms); and Dubai, UAE (49.2 per cent with 28,474 rooms). "The main act ivi ty of hotel development in the region takes places across the Uni ted Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman," said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global. "Selected markets will see more than half of their current supply entering the markets over the coming years. Whilst the long-term prospects for the region are good, the new supply will create more challenging market conditions for the short-term.

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