Hilton has announced an initial investment of $1 million to drive sustainable travel and tourism in Africa at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum in Nairobi (Kenya).
To do so, the company will focus on five key areas – Hilton’s ‘Big Five’.
The Youth Opportunity involves investing in training and apprenticeship programmes to build a strong talent pipeline and tackle identified challenges for the youth, including underemployment.
The Water Stewardship includes the expansion of existing partnerships and the creation of new alliances to help Hilton achieve its goal to reduce its water consumption by 50% and activate 20 context-based water projects in at-risk communities by 2030.
The Anti-Human Trafficking key area will provide training and auditing to mitigate against human trafficking, alongside engagement with local NGOs to address the social challenges in local communities.
Local Sourcing will involve the creation of partnerships to build local entrepreneurs’ capacity to deliver high quality and authentic goods and services, and integrate them into Hilton’s supply chain.
Protecting Wildlife will promote responsible wildlife-based tourism, in line with the WTTC Buenos Aires Declaration on Travel & Tourism and Illegal Wildlife Trade.
This announcement follows the recent launch of Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 goals to double its investment in social impact and cut its environmental footprint in half across the globe.
With 53 properties in its development pipeline, Hilton expects to double its portfolio of hotels on the continent during the next five years, including entering new markets such as Botswana, Ghana, Swaziland, Uganda, Malawi and Rwanda.