Hilton reaffirms expansion in Saudi Arabia from 15 to 75 hotels following meeting with Tourism Minister

• Hilton plans 600% expansion to more than 75 properties in Saudi Arabia
• 10,000 new jobs to be created across the Kingdom
• Hilton to support Ministry’s ‘Your Future in Tourism’ initiative to train Saudis

Riyadh  – Hilton (NYSE: HLT) has reaffirmed its commitment to a 600% expansion in Saudi Arabia, creating more than 10,000 new jobs, as part of an ambitious expansion across the Kingdom, following a meeting between His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism, and Chris Nassetta, President & CEO of Hilton, in Riyadh today.

The new roles, which contribute towards Saudi Arabia’s target of 1 million new jobs in tourism as part of the Vision 2030 economic transformation plan will be created as a result of  Hilton’s fast growing portfolio of hotels in the Kingdom.

Speaking after the meeting, His Excellency Al Khateeb said: “Today’s commitment by Hilton to new hotels and creating more than 10,000 new jobs demonstrates their confidence in the progress being made in Saudi Arabia as we continue to develop and grow our tourism industry.

“We have an ambitious target of welcoming 100 million international and domestic visits by 2030. Working with world-leading hospitality and tourism businesses like Hilton to expand the range and scale of options available to tourists is a key part of our plans. As today’s announcement shows, we are making great progress.”

Chris Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton, said: “It’s a great honor to be back in Saudi Arabia as we announce plans to expand our portfolio here with new brands and hotels opening in destinations across the Kingdom. I commend the work undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism to facilitate the development of tourism and hospitality – this is a truly remarkable time for tourism in Saudi Arabia and Hilton is well positioned to play a leading role in Vision 2030 creating new jobs  as we welcome visitors from around the world.”

The company, which currently operates 15 hotels in KSA, and already has another 46 under development plans to expand its operations to more than 75 properties, including the introduction of new brands such as LXR Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection by Hilton, Canopy by Hilton and Embassy by Hilton.

This expansion will also support new tourism hotspots in the Kingdom such as Diriyah Gate,  helping deliver the goal of 100 million visitors by 2030, and boosting tourism’s contribution to GDP to 10%.

Hilton will also be supporting the Ministry of Tourism’s ‘Your Future is in Tourism’ initiative, which aims to train and develop the next generation of Saudi talent for a career in hospitality. In the first half of 2021, there were more than 148,600 Saudis who have already been trained for new roles in tourism.

Hilton will assist the program through its industry-leading programmes such as Mudeer Al Mustakbal which has so far resulted in than more than 50 Saudi graduates enter senior positions at Hilton hotels.

The Kingdom has plans to develop 854,000 more hotel rooms, to be 70% private-sector funded.

After opening to international tourism in 2019, Saudi Arabia issued more than 400,000 eVisas – briefly becoming the fastest-growing tourism destination in the world before the pandemic.

Hilton is one of the world’s largest, and fastest growing hospitality businesses. The company operates more than 6,700 hotels worldwide, 122 countries and territories, and under 18 brands. In Saudi Arabia, Hilton currently operates hotels under its Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands.

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Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of tourism leads the Saudi Tourism ecosystem, with support from the Saudi Tourism Authority and the Tourism Development Fund.

The Ministry sets the Kingdom’s tourism sector strategy and is responsible for the development of policies and regulations, developing human capital, gathering statistics, and attracting investment.  It works in partnership with the Saudi Tourism Authority, which promotes Saudi Arabia as a global tourism destination, and the Tourism Development Fund, which executes the Ministry’s investment strategy by providing funding for the sector’s development.

Headed by His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, the Ministry was founded in February 2020, following the opening of Saudi Arabia to international leisure tourists for the first time in its history in 2019. Saudi Arabia aims to welcome 100 million tourism visits by 2030, increasing the sector’s contribution to GDP from 3% to 10%.

About Hilton

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 18 world-class brands comprising more than 6,700 properties and more than 1 million rooms, in 122 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on the 2021 World’s Best Workplaces list, and was named the 2020 Global Industry Leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. In 2020, Hilton CleanStay was introduced, bringing an industry-defining standard of cleanliness to hotels worldwide. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the nearly 123 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can’t buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit www.newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

© Press Release 2021