HotelsMag October 2017 | Page 38

REGIONAL PROFILE

Patient Progress

PreParedness is PerhaPs the bigger lesson to learn about africa ; develoPers remain oPtimistic as the continent continues to blossom .
By Jeff Weinstein , editor in chief
“ i always call africa a land of goldmines and landmines . You just need to know how to manage the landmines ,” says Saurabh Chawla , chief development officer , Louvre Hotels , Paris . So it goes in Africa , which has hotel development stories about as diverse as its 54 countries . Those stories vary greatly depending on the stage of the supply cycle . While secondary markets with increasing demand in Kenya , Ghana and Nigeria have longer runways for development , markets like Nairobi and Kigali , for example , have quickly become oversupplied .
Overall , the future of the sector on the continent is encouraging with a rising middle class , increased access by Africans to air travel and gaps in hotel product across the region . Yet this must be tempered by the more recent slowdown of the commodity cycle in various coastal and resource-rich countries , and the infrastructure deficit across the board .
What is most clear : Opportunities exist in secondary cities for economy and midscale products , as well as at leisure beach destinations . South Africa and Nigeria still generate more than 50 % of sub-Sahara ’ s GDP and remain the top development