Africa’s chain hotel development pipeline has reached a record high of 675 hotels and 123,846 rooms as of early 2026, representing an 18.6% increase year-on-year, according to the 18th annual Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa report published by W Hospitality Group. At the heart of this surge is Egypt, the continent’s undisputed hotel development powerhouse with 185 planned hotels and 45,984 rooms, representing 37.1% of the entire African pipeline.
North Africa as a whole now commands 50% of all pipeline rooms across the continent, with its pipeline growing 27% year-on-year – well over double the 11% growth recorded in sub-Saharan Africa.
The North African pipeline stands at 284 hotels and 62,630 rooms, drawing from four active development markets: Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. There is no current development pipeline in Libya.
Egypt’s dominance is reflected across every metric. With 185 planned hotels and resorts, it commands four times more rooms than second-placed Morocco. Its pipeline grew 35.5% in a single year, driven by 53 new deals signed in 2025 alone, more than any other country on the continent.
Greater Cairo has the largest urban hotel pipeline of any city in Africa, with 22,111 planned rooms across 88 projects representing 18% of the entire continental pipeline. The world’s major hotel groups are betting heavily on Egypt: Accor has 28 hotels in its Cairo pipeline, Marriott International 20, Hilton 18 and IHG 14, the 4 together totalling 16,400 rooms in the city.
Egypt’s Red Sea resorts are equally compelling. Sharm El Sheikh has nine pipeline projects with an average size of 539 rooms — the largest resort average in Africa’s top 10. Marsa Alam has 14 planned resorts, 53% of which are due to open this year and next. Ain Sokhna brings a further 15 projects to the pipeline, predominantly driven by Kerten Hospitality with seven projects. Egypt’s North Coast, on the Mediterranean, is opening up, with considerable development activity in Alexandria.
Key Data: North Africa Pipeline at a Glance
Trevor Ward, Managing Director, W Hospitality Group commented, “Egypt represents a terrific opportunity for hotel investment. The scale of what is being planned – nearly 46,000 rooms – is extraordinary, in some 30 different cities and resorts; what is most encouraging is that over 50% of those rooms are already under construction. The government’s Vision 2030 tourism target of 30 million annual visitors is creating real urgency among international operators to secure their positions now.”
Morocco continues to demonstrate exceptional momentum, with 75 pipeline hotels and 10,606 rooms — a 23.6% increase year-on-year. The country recorded 29 new deals in 2025, the second-highest total on the continent, spread across 13 cities and resort destinations. Accor, which has operated in Morocco for several decades with more than 40 hotels, remains the dominant force, though competition from global chains is intensifying.
Morocco’s appeal has been further amplified by its status as co-host of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which hospitality leaders cite as a major catalyst for long-term infrastructure investment and international visitor growth. The country recorded nearly 20 million international arrivals in 2025, a 14% increase on 2024, making it Africa’s leading tourism destination for the second consecutive year.
55% of North Africa’s pipeline rooms are already under active construction, compared to a global benchmark of approximately 40%, according to Lodging Econometrics. Morocco is particularly advanced, with 64.7% of its pipeline on-site. In Egypt, 51.4% of rooms are under construction — a significant figure given the scale and youth of the pipeline, with many projects signed only in the past two years.
Matthew Weihs, Growth Director, The Bench said, “Egypt is one of the most exciting hospitality investment stories in the world right now, not just Africa. We created FHS Egypt specifically because the depth of deal flow, the calibre of investors active in the market, and the government’s clear strategic vision for tourism justify a dedicated forum. The pipeline data from W Hospitality Group makes it clear — Cairo, Sharm El Sheikh, and the Red Sea corridor are where the action is, and FHS Egypt on 10–11 November at the Sofitel Downtown Cairo Nile will be the place where the next wave of deals are shaped.”