THE hotel market in
Mozambique is expected
to boom in the next
couple of years.
Hotel values in Maputo
– based on recent market
performance in US dollars
as recorded on January 1,
2017 – have jumped up 133%
in 2016 with a compound
annual growth rate of 36,6%
between 2010 and 2016,
making it the most improved
market in Africa in terms of
hotel values.
This is according to the
latest Hotel Valuation Index
(HVI) published annually
by HVS Global Hospitality
Service. (The HVI valuation
parameters reflect short-term
and long-term sustainable
financing models.) It monitors
annual percentage changes
in the values of typically fourand
five-star hotels in 23
major African cities and ranks
each market relative to an
African average.
Topping the ranks of the
HVI 2017 in terms of most
improved hotel values are,
in declining order, Maputo,
Mauritius, the Seychelles,
Windhoek, Casablanca,
Kampala, Dakar, Cairo,
Nairobi, Cape Town, Lomé
and Accra.
The worst performing African
cities in terms of hotel values
(percentage change in US$ in
2016 over 2015) are Sharmel-Sheikh
(-54%), Harare
(-36%), Marrakech (-23%),
Addis Ababa (-16%), Dar es
Salaam (-15%), Johannesburg
(-11%), Gaborone (-11%),
Durban (-7%), Lagos (-10%),
Lusaka (-1,2%) and Abidjan
(-0,8%).
HVS Cape Town consultant,
Laura Dutrieux, says markets
such as Mozambique,
Senegal and Uganda are
on the rise because of
political stability, government
promotion of international
tourism and removal of visa
restrictions. Others, such
as Sharm-el-Sheikh, Harare
and Marrakech, have to cope
with terrorism or political
instability.
She says while tourism
prospects in Africa may not
be as positive as previously
thought because of the
impact of oil prices and the
economic downgrade in South
Africa, most African countries
are experiencing slow, but
realistic, growth that investors
can rely on.
Continuing to hamper
Africa’s growth were issues
of inaccessibility, with lengthy
and expensive flights and lack
of competition on air routes
still the norm. However, some
markets like Kenya and South
Africa were receiving more
direct international flights and
seeing more local low-cost
carriers emerging.
Visa availability was still
being plagued by lengthy
procedures and corruption,
but this was starting to be
addressed. The African Union
has launched the African
Visa Openness Index that
encourages countries to
open up and allow greater
movement of people, with 44
borders in Africa now issuing
visas on arrival.
Laura said Cape Town would
add 2 500 new hotel rooms
in the next year, new direct
air routes were coming online
and rates were expected to
increase by an average 6,6%.
However, while hotel values
were booming in rand terms,
the fluctuating currency value
meant returns looked far less
exciting when converted into
US dollars.
