Hilton Worldwide is setting up a development office in Cape Town to spearhead big expansion plans into sub-Saharan Africa and to introduce new brands into the region. These include the upscale Doubletree and mid-scale Hilton Garden Inn.
 
Hilton Worldwide VP Development Southern Europe & Africa, Deepak Seth, told Tourism Update Online in Cape Town last week the company saw potential for at least five hotels in South Africa – another Hilton, a Doubletree and at least two or three Hilton Garden Inn hotels. Locations being considered include Cape Town – where he conceded Hilton was conspicuous in its absence – Pretoria, and at airports in Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth. He also sees potential for Hilton resorts outside Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. The new development office will be managed by VP Development Sub-Saharan Africa, Derrek Anderson, who will be looking for investors to partners with. Ideally, the company would like to get involved in new projects but is open for conversions or talking to owners of independently run hotels.
 
Immediate expansion plans in the rest of Africa include eight new properties. The 154-room Hilton Windhoek in Namibia is due to open in the last quarter of this year. Hilton Lagos Airport (Nigeria) and Hilton Cape Verde Resort are opening in 2012. The remaining five properties open in Equatorial Guinea, Uganda and Egypt between late 2010 and 2014.
 
The company is also considering opportunities in Maputo and Pemba in Mozambique; Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, Angola and Ghana.
 
While Hilton Worldwide already operates a total of 27 hotels in Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, its presence is stronger in North Africa and more sporadic in sub-Saharan Africa, where it currently operates only eight hotels.
 
Seth said Hilton's development in Africa to date had been opportunistic and lacking in strategy. Its new focus follows the recessionary market and high costs of land in developed countries, while Africa continues to show positive economic growth, projected at 7% in 2011. "Africa is the world's last untapped market for hotel expansion," he said.  "The African travel, tourism and gaming industries represent an emerging market of 31m travellers with more than US$12.4bn in revenues. The WTTO ranks Africa as one of the fastest growing destinations for international tourism."