Africa’s hospitality industry is experiencing a major expansion, with a record 123,846 hotel rooms across 675 hotels and resorts currently in the development pipeline, according to the 2026 Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa report by W Hospitality Group.
The report shows the pipeline has grown by 18.6% year-on-year, highlighting rising investor confidence in Africa’s tourism and business travel markets.
However, the expansion is increasingly concentrated in a handful of countries. The top 10 African markets now account for 79% of all pipeline rooms and more than 75% of new hotel signings, underscoring their dominant role in shaping the continent’s hospitality development.
Egypt leads the rankings with 45,984 rooms across 185 hotels, representing more than one-third of Africa’s entire pipeline and over four times the number in second-placed Morocco, which has 10,606 rooms. Together, the two North African nations account for more than 45% of the continent’s total pipeline rooms.
Other leading markets include Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana.
According to Trevor Ward, the figures demonstrate how a few high-performing markets are driving hotel investment across Africa.
“The data clearly show that Africa’s hotel development story is being driven by a handful of high-performing markets, with Egypt firmly at the forefront in both signings and projected openings,” Ward said.
While North Africa dominates in overall pipeline size, East Africa is emerging as the continent’s most active construction zone. Nearly 80% of hotel pipeline rooms in Ethiopia and Kenya are already under construction, followed by Tanzania with 77.5%, suggesting the region will deliver a large share of Africa’s new hotel supply in the near term.
By contrast, markets such as Nigeria and Cape Verde have lower proportions of projects currently under construction.
Uganda, although not among the continent’s top ten pipeline markets, remains part of the broader East African growth story, with several internationally branded hotel projects under development as the country seeks to strengthen its tourism and conference infrastructure. Previous pipeline data shows the country has multiple hotel projects underway, reflecting steady investor interest in the market.
At the operator level, global hospitality brands dominate development activity. Marriott International leads the African pipeline with 31,782 rooms, followed by Hilton and Accor. Together with IHG Hotels & Resorts and Radisson Hotel Group, the five largest chains account for around 80% of all hotel pipeline rooms across Africa.
The report forecasts that more than 65,000 rooms could open between 2026 and 2027, although analysts caution that historical completion rates suggest actual delivery may fall short due to financing, regulatory and construction delays.
Further analysis of Africa’s hotel development trends will be presented at the upcoming Future Hospitality Summit Africa scheduled for March 31 to April 1 in Nairobi.