new report

An increase in new project announcements for the most recent quarter was offset by a higher number of project cancellations in the same period, the report states. At the same time, one third of the Canadian pipeline is already under construction and is certain to open in the coming year.

The second-quarter decline brings an end to two solid years of hotel growth within North America's provinces, with developers now turning cautious because of the slowing economy and little or no financing for future projects, says Patrick Ford, president of Portsmouth, NH-based Lodging Econometrics.

"The blueprint in how it's rolling out is almost parallel with the states," Ford tells GlobeSt.com, pointing to a similar peak in the US hotel pipeline. While he terms the decline in hotel development between the first two quarters in Canada as "modest and moderate," he says his firm has revised its forecast for new hotel openings downward to 3.4% gross growth this year and 3.3% in 2009.