Kampala is the best city in East Africa to invest in a hotel, says a respected hospitality investment expert.
Wayne Troughton of HTI Consulting has been quoted by the East African Business Week, as as one of Africa’s leading hospitality investment experts.
The hospitality investment guru shared insights in the best five hospitality investment destination as the worst ones.
He said the best bets would be 150-room hotels in or close to urban centers which are close to corporates, conferencing centres and transport nodes.
He named Kampala, Addis Ababa, and Dar es Salaam as the Top Hospitality Investment Markets in East Africa while Nairobi and Kigali he ranked them at the botton as over supplied markets.
1. Kampala
Uganda’s capital Kampala is billed by many as the entertainment capital of East Africa which attracts many people to enjoy the city’s night life. But also, there are so many opportunities that Wayne Troughton looks at. He says Kampala is one of the next hubs for investment because of its current limited branded supply.
More so, as oil prices enter recovery period, Kampala provides a “strategic and attractive opportunity for investors. Kampala is already home of the gem on Lake Victoria, the magnificent Speke Resort Munyonyo which is twinned with the Commonwealth Resort, one of the most beautiful resorts in Africa. London-based Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa in March 2019 even proposed that Speke Resort and Conference Center be declared the “official Africa Conference Center”.
2. Addis Ababa
Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa is not new to Meetings, being the headquarter of Africa Union. But also its economic resurgence has made the city have the highest Average Daily Room rates (ADRs) on the continent.
Troughton says however, Addis is short on forex exchange which is a challenge for both investors and visitors.
3. Dar es Salaam
Tanzania’s Indian ocean-based city, is a city of many opportunities. The commercial city of Tanzania is also surging with a new moment in the country.
The others are:
4&5: Kigali & Nairobi
Kigali, capital of Rwanda and Nairobi, a long time international business capital for the region, is over saturated. There are too many hotels in Nairobi. Kigali on the other hand has little activities going in the country.
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