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Hospitality Company Focuses on Sustainable Travel and Tourism in Africa

By Abdi Ali
Published October 9, 2018

A leading hospitality company that has been operating in Africa since 1959 has announced an initial investment of USD$1 million to drive sustainable travel and tourism in Africa.

The five areas dubbed ‘Big Five’ that Hilton Hotel says it shall focus on to achieve its goals are:

Youth Opportunity: investing in training and apprenticeship programs to build a strong talent pipeline and tackle identified challenges for youth, including underemployment
Water Stewardship: 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
Anti-Human Trafficking: the provision of training and auditing to mitigate against human trafficking, alongside engagement with local NGOs to address the social challenges in local communities
Local Sourcing: 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: the promotion of responsible wildlife-based tourism, in line with the WTTC Buenos Aires Declaration on Travel & Tourism and Illegal Wildlife Trade

This announcement, part of the hotel’s corporate responsibility,comes in the wake 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.

Speaking at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum in Nairobi, Chris Nassetta, Hilton’s President and CEO, said: “Hilton is committed to creating a positive social and environmental impact in every community where we operate. Africa is an incredibly diverse continent, with equally diverse challenges and opportunities — and as we continue to grow in the region, we are focused on doing so in a way that promotes sustainable travel and tourism. Today we are pleased to take our efforts to the next level with an initial commitment of $1 million, which will allow us to invest in and scale up initiatives that build skills among young people, mitigate risks in human trafficking, engage local entrepreneurs across our supply chain, improve water efficiencies and promote responsible wildlife-based tourism.”

Hilton says its Big Five agenda will build upon an existing foundation of partnerships and initiatives to deepen the company’s impact and to inspire positive social and environmental change across its value chain.

With 53 properties in its development pipeline, Hilton says it 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.

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