More than $6bn of hotel projects are expected to be completed in the Middle East by 2013, according to STR Global.
The Hotel Show exhibition director Frederique Maurell said that despite the double-dip recession in Europe and the US, along with instability in the MENA region, the hospitality infrastructure and the associated supplies industry are witnessing steady growth.
The new developments will be located mainly in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with emphasis on sustainability, technology, saving energy and money, and increasing efficiency.
According to an earlier STR Global report, the Middle East hospitality sector will see more than half its current supply of hotels coming online within the next few years.
The report said Abu Dhabi has 13,405 rooms in its active pipeline: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has 4,831 rooms under development; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has 3,033 rooms; Muscat, Oman, has 1,931 rooms; and Dubai has 28,474 rooms.
