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Hilton (NYSE: HLT)
Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 27 world-class brands comprising more than 9,100 properties and over 1.3 million rooms, in 143 countries and territories.
Topics
2026 Trends Report
The Whycation: Travel’s New Starting Point
Hotels & Resorts News
We Are Hilton
Media Resources
Contacts
Hilton (NYSE: HLT)
Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 27 world-class brands comprising more than 9,100 properties and over 1.3 million rooms, in 143 countries and territories.
Travel with PurposeCategory•
If you drive to Key Largo, Florida along U.S. Route 1, you’ll find sand dunes, blue water and dive shops dotted along both sides of the highway. These shops ensure that the thousands of divers and travelers who visit the Florida Keys each year have what they need to experience its natural wonders – providing more than just access to a pastime but also economic opportunity for the community.
In addition to supporting local hotels in the region such as Hampton Inn Key Largo, Casa Marina Key West, Curio Collection by Hilton; The Reach Key West, Curio Collection by Hilton; Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo, Curio Collection by Hilton; and Hampton Inn Marathon – Florida Keys, among others —this area’s thriving diving industry sustains local businesses, creates job opportunities for thousands of people and raises awareness of the challenges facing coral reefs around the world.
Preserving these ecosystems is critical to maintaining the economic vitality they support. The Hilton Global Foundation is helping advance this work by funding initiatives that connect travelers to the communities, businesses and destinations they visit, creating more than just a memorable trip but lasting positive impact that goes beyond the surface – literally.
That investment comes to life through partnerships with organizations like the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, a 2024 Hilton Global Foundation grantee, who’s taking action in and out of the water through programs like Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys.
Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys trains and equips divers from local dive shops to safely and responsibly remove marine debris such as discarded fishing lines, abandoned lobster traps, ropes, cans and bottles that can be swept onto reefs and threaten these sensitive ecosystems, which are home to thousands of species of fish, coral and other marine life. What sets the program apart is not just the work itself, but who gets to participate.
Through partnerships with Blue Star Dive Operators, local dive companies committed to sustainable practices, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation with the support of the Hilton Global Foundation are doing more than bringing travelers to the reef; they are enabling them to take part in its protection.
Through Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys, local dive operators receive funding to train both staff and certified visitors in the safe, sustainable removal of reef debris, while also chartering cleanup dives that bring in participants from around the world.
One day, visitors come to explore a reef.
The next, they’re on a cleanup dive helping restore it, becoming active participants in protecting the places they visit.
For Silent World Dive Center, a proud Blue Star Dive Operator, this shift is a practical one that makes business sense. Shelby, the shop’s operations manager, sees firsthand how participating in programs like Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys strengthens the business. On calm days, boats leave the dock full of divers chasing the experience they’ve travelled to have. However, when ocean conditions aren’t favorable or when trips get canceled, Silent World’s revenue becomes uncertain. Programs like Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys changes that. Instead of staying docked, boats head back out with a different purpose: removing debris, protecting coral and maintaining the very ecosystem that sustains their livelihoods. It keeps employees working, boats moving and the reef healthier for future travelers.
Divers Engaged
Hours Underwater
Approximate Pounds of Debris Removed
Feet of Line and Rope Removed
With the help of the Hilton Global Foundation, clean up dives have removed 22,153 pounds of trash and engaged 1,078 local divers. This more than just a program, it’s a cycle aligning tourism, conservation, businesses and local livelihoods, something that the Hilton Global Foundation is proud to support.
For more information about the Hilton Global Foundation, visit: hiltonglobalfoundation.hilton.com.
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