Nigeria is expected to overtake Mauritius within the next five years and become a larger hotel market according to a recently published PwC hospitality report.

The report, South African hospitality outlook:2013-2017, says that although Mauritius is currently a much more developed market than Nigeria, stay units in Nigeria are projected to surpass Mauritius in 2015 and to be 63 per cent greater in 2017. This is the first time the report, which focusses on South Africa, included information about hotel accommodation in Nigeria and Mauritius.

It added that despite the larger number of five-star hotels in Mauritius, the average room rate in Nigeria cost 27 per cent more than Mauritius in 2012.

Commenting on the continent's most developed hospitality market, South Africa, the report said that modest growth is expected with the average hotel occupancy rate projected to increase to 68,7 per cent in 2017 from 56,5 per cent in 2012.

This was largely due to an increase in visitor arrivals last year with European arrivals growing by 9,7 per cent, North American arrivals by 13,9 per cent and African arrivals by 8,5 per cent. There have also been significant increases in visitors originating from China and India.