Hilton plans to open hotels across 14 African countries, including Ghana, Tunisia, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.
The new properties are slated to open within the next three to five years. Hilton's pipeline already includes 49 hotel projects across the continent. The new hotels are expected to double the group's 40-hotel portfolio in Africa during the next five years.
The hotel group also plans to create several new job opportunities for locals, especially women, through these new hotel projects. The move comes after Hilton recently hired its first African general manager at the Legend Hotel Lagos Airport, Curio Collection by Hilton in Lagos, Nigeria.
This new set of hotels follows Hilton's initial plans to expand in Africa announced in October 2017. The group established the Hilton Africa Growth Initiative to invest $50 million to expand its presence in the continent within the next five years through the conversion of close to 100 hotels with about 20,000 guestrooms in several markets in the continent into Hilton branded hotels. Most of these will operate under the flagship Hilton brand, the DoubleTree by Hilton brand and the Curio Collection brand.
One of the most recent additions to the pipeline was the Hilton Garden Inn Umhlanga Arch in Umhlanga, Durban in South Africa. Hilton signed a management agreement in April 2018 with UA Hotel to open the new 207-room hotel as part of the Umhlanga Arch mixed-use development. The project is currently under construction in the city’s Ridgeside district near the King Shaka International Airport, La Lucia Ridge and the Gateway Theatre of Shopping.