At the end of Q3 2008, Asia Pacific's Total Construction Pipeline stood at 1,990 projects/466,456 rooms.

Total project counts are down 8% from the cyclical peak in Q2 2008, with total rooms down 11%.

The Pipeline will continue to contract at an accelerating pace through 2009, particularly as New Project Announcements into the Pipeline are expected to further taper off during the next year.

In Asia, 62% of all Pipeline projects are already Under Construction due to the rush to get projects started in late 2007-early 2008 before the onset of the lending crisis.

As a result, a record level of New Openings is forecasted through 2010. Of the 309,196 new guestrooms expected though 2010, 302,600 are already in the ground.

In China's Pipeline, Shanghai leads all cities with 104 projects/26,510 rooms. Macau and Beijing follow with 33 projects/23,027 rooms and 57 projects/13,678 rooms, respectively.

Bangalore accounts for 13% of India's Pipeline with 38 projects/9,429 rooms. Hyderabad follows with 34 projects/7,251 rooms.

Of the seven countries that make up Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Cambodia), Bangkok has the most active market with 36 projects/8,939 rooms.

Jakarta follows with 18 projects/4,163 rooms while Phuket has 20 projects/3,300 rooms.