Since Hilton (Hilton.com) announced its Big Five commitment (http://bit.ly/2mzuduL) to drive sustainable travel and tourism in Africa less than a year ago, the company has allocated $626,000 towards community partnerships and projects.  These drive impact and deepen positive social and environmental change in five key areas – Youth Opportunity, Water Stewardship, Anti-Human Trafficking, Local Sourcing, and Wildlife Protection.

Investments include hotel-level project funding as well as contributions through the newly founded Hilton Effect Foundation and Hilton’s global partnerships with the World Wildlife Fund, International Youth Foundation, and Vital Voices.

Rudi Jagersbacher, President, MEA&T, Hilton said: “Hilton is fully committed to Africa and the sustainable development of its travel and tourism sector. Our teams across the continent are empowered 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.”

Examples of Hilton’s collaboration with local organizations in support of its Big Five commitment include:

Youth Opportunity - Hilton Transcorp Abuja, Nigeria partners with ACE Charity on its Business Empowerment Program for Women (BEPW) to provide skills and training opportunities for young women. Their latest project will see the BEPW participants trained in repurposing linen to create hotel uniforms and guest amenity bags saving around 50% on sourcing costs.

Water Stewardship - Hilton Garden Inn Lusaka, Zambia is tackling water access needs in the community by building a water pipe and pump with Village Water Zambia. This will specifically support local school children who are the most at risk from water-related illnesses.

Anti-Human Trafficking - Hilton Yaounde, Cameroon extends its partnership with the Women’s Guild for Empowerment and Development to create integration programs and work experiences for women who have been victims of human trafficking.

Local Sourcing - Hilton Northolme, Seychelles will invest in a local hydroponic farm and its sustainable farming practices, in order to promote farm-to-table experiences for guests, and reduce the hotel’s reliance on imported vegetables and herbs by 40% and 100%.

Wildlife Protection - Hilton Nairobi, Kenya continues to sponsor six elephants in a local elephant sanctuary which cares for orphaned elephants and supports their reintegration into the wild. This commitment has been sustained now for more than five years.

Hilton has been operating continuously in Africa since 1959 and is committed to long-term sustainable growth across the continent.  It currently operates a total of 47 hotels in Africa and has an active pipeline with a further 52 properties under development.