Riyadh: Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb welcomed the Hilton Hotel Group's plan to expand its presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to more than 60 hotels throughout the next few years.

The Ministry of Tourism is working to attract leading international hotel and hospitality brands, including the Hilton Hotel Group, to the country, in line with Saudi Arabia's strategy to increase the number of hotel rooms to over 500,000 by 2030, and provide world-class services to its tourists.

The ministry also collaborates with the private sector to improve the Kingdom's tourism infrastructure. It is committed to attracting investors by ensuring the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector. Its goal is to achieve 150 million tourists by 2030, and increase the contribution of tourism to the GDP by 10%.

The major expansion planned by the Hilton Group is expected to create a unique opportunity for investors worldwide.

Chairman and CEO of Hilton Group Chris Nassetta commended the Kingdom's strive to improve the tourism sector infrastructure. He said the group wishes to expand to more destinations, stressing that two-thirds of the group's project portfolio in the Kingdom is presently under construction. Hilton Group aims to double its project portfolio by four times across the Kingdom.

Nassetta said that the group's proposed projects could generate around 10,000 job opportunities, of which over half to be occupied by Saudi citizens. He added that the group will continue to create a work environment focused on achieving goals and partner with academic institutions to provide training programs that enable Saudi citizens to fill permanent jobs in the hospitality sector throughout the Kingdom.