Hotel construction continues to grow in the wider Caribbean-Mexico region, according to a newly-released report from hotel analytics firm STR.

And that is led by two of the region’s tourism powerhouses: the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. 

In the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic continues to lead the way, with 5,738 rooms in construction, a 7.9 percent increase compared to 2018. 

In the wider Caribbean-Mexico region, there were a total of 151 hotel projects comprising 30,809 rooms as of October, which represented a 16.8 percent jump compared to the same period in 2018. 

That was paced by the luxury and upscale segments, which accounted for 7,270 and 7,221 rooms, respectively. 

The luxury segment showed the largest increase compared to 2018, a jump of 10.6 percent, STR said. 

That was followed by Jamaica, which reported 1,925 rooms in construction, a rise of 7.7 percent, along with Cuba, which had 1,128 rooms in construction, a 1.7 percent increase. 

— CJ