Research by Proleads shows most hotel development, totalling $4.4bn, is in UAE
There is $7bn (£4.3bn) worth of hotels under construction in the Gulf, new research has found.
The majority of the projects, totalling $4.4bn, are in the UAE and $1.2bn worth are in Saudi Arabia, according to research company, Proleads, which surveyed countries in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) group.
Another firm, Lodging Econometrics, has found that 98 hotels will open in the Middle East in 2010 and 115 in 2011.
![Shangri La Qaryat Al Beri Hotel, Abu Dhabi](https://d2vhdk00tg424t.cloudfront.net/MediaLibrary/s3/ubm-library/web/f/t/l/shangri_la_qaryat_al_beri_hotel_lead.jpg)
Rates of revenue per available room have declined year-on-year in the Middle East to about $125, though when compared with rates for Europe and the Americas, $81 and $55 respectively, the Middle East is faring better in the global downturn than other countries.
Maggie Moore, exhibition director of the Hotel Show, which will take place in Dubai in May, said: “It has been a tough time for the hospitality industry on a worldwide basis in 2009 and the Middle East has not escaped totally unscathed.”
She said that the global downturn had allowed the industry to “re-examine plans” , which had been “a healthy exercise.”
The GCC countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Quatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
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