Above: construction at the Baha Mar in New Providence (Baha Mar photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Bahamas currently leads the Caribbean in the number of hotel rooms under construction, according to a new report from hotel analytics firm STR.

According to STR data through February, there were 2,706 rooms under construction in the Bahamas, led by the high-profile Baha Mar development, the region’s largest.

Next on the list was the Dominican Republic, with 1,747 rooms, followed by Puerto Rico, which had 449 rooms under construction. Jamaica had a total of 368 rooms under construction, according to the report.

Mexico had 5,359 rooms under construction as of last month, leading to a 12.2 percent overall increase in the region in rooms under construction.

Overall, the Caribbean/Mexico hotel development pipeline rose to 25,850 total rooms in February, a 26.4 percent increase in the number of rooms in the active pipeline.

STR pipeline data includes rooms in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages but does not include projects in the Pre-Planning stage.