Africa remains one of the most active hospitality investment frontiers globally, supported by rising tourism demand, expanding urban economies, and a growing pipeline of branded hotel developments across the continent.
At the start of 2026, Africa’s hotel chain development pipeline stood at 675 hotels and 123,846 rooms, an 18.6% increase year-on-year, according to the Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa 2026 report by W Hospitality Group.
The analysis draws on signed development deals submitted in early 2026 by 53 regional and international hotel chains operating across Africa, as well as global groups with multi-country footprints.
For consistency, it excludes purely domestic hotel operators active in only one African market.
The coverage spans all 54 African countries, including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and key island markets in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, offering a comparable view of where future hotel supply is concentrated across both major cities and resort destinations.
Sharm El Sheikh, one of Africa’s leading resort destinations, ranks second among the continent’s top cities and resorts for planned hotel rooms in 2026, with 4,851 rooms in its development pipeline. Located at the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula along the Red Sea coast, the resort continues to attract large-scale luxury hospitality investments.
The pipeline is made up of just nine deals, but with significantly larger resort developments compared to other destinations. Accor dominates activity in Sharm El Sheikh, with seven of the nine projects, and nearly 90% of the rooms operating under its brands, largely in the luxury and upper upscale segments.
Hilton and IHG each contribute one resort to the pipeline, while almost the entire development slate is expected to open by the end of 2027, reinforcing the destination’s position as a high-end leisure hub.
