Africa’s hotel development pipeline has reached a record high, with 675 hotels and resorts comprising 123,846 rooms currently planned or under development across the continent, according to the 2026 Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa report by W Hospitality Group.
The figures represent a year-on-year increase of 18.6%, highlighting growing investor confidence in Africa’s tourism and hospitality sector. The report comes as the continent records some of the fastest inbound tourism growth globally, driving demand for new accommodation infrastructure.
However, development activity is becoming increasingly concentrated in a handful of key markets. The top ten African countries now account for around 79% of all pipeline rooms and more than 75% of new hotel signings, underlining their growing dominance in shaping the continent’s hospitality landscape.
Egypt leads the rankings by a wide margin, with 185 hotels and nearly 46,000 rooms in the pipeline—more than a third of the total across Africa. The country’s pipeline is more than four times larger than that of Morocco, which ranks second with 10,606 rooms across 75 properties. Together, Egypt and Morocco account for over 45% of all planned hotel rooms on the continent.
Industry experts say Egypt’s continued expansion is being driven by sustained investor interest and strong tourism demand. The country signed 39 new hotel deals last year and is expected to see 33 new openings in 2026, reinforcing its leading position in the market.
While North Africa dominates the pipeline in overall scale, the report highlights East Africa as the region with the strongest construction momentum.
In countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya, nearly 80% of pipeline hotel rooms are already under construction, indicating strong progress toward project completion. Tanzania also shows significant momentum, with around 77.5% of its pipeline rooms currently being built.
This contrasts with markets such as Nigeria and Cape Verde, where a smaller share of projects have progressed to the construction stage.
Analysts say the data suggest that East Africa is likely to see the largest wave of new hotel openings in the near term, as projects already underway move closer to completion and begin adding to the region’s hospitality capacity.
