CAIRO - Hilton plans to increase the number of its hotels in Saudi Arabia from 15 to 75 within the next five years, the Saudi tourism minister said on Tuesday.

The announcement came during a meeting between minister Ahmed al-Khatib and the Chief Executive of Hilton Worldwide Group, Chris Nassetta.

Hilton's plans will provide "more than 10,000 new jobs", state news agency SPA quoted the minister as saying during the meeting.

He added on his Twitter account that "private sector partnerships contribute to the recovery of the tourism sector" and that working with partners such as Hilton is "a key part of our plans to attract 100 million visits, develop our tourism destinations and increase the contribution of tourism to GDP to 10% by 2030".

 

(Reporting by Omar Fahmy and Yasmin hussein Writing by Moataz Abdelrahiem Editing by David Goodman)