Kenya targets US tourism and investment through new Washington partnership

The initiative, unveiled at a Kenya Embassy-hosted forum in Washington, D.C., brings together Nairobi-based travel company Tuua Safaris and US-based Africaire Hospitality Group under a platform dubbed the Tourism Triangle.

The platform will initially link Kenya with Washington, D.C. and Maryland, with plans to extend the network to other US and Caribbean markets.

Kenya’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, Ambassador Christopher Kirigua, said the partnership would provide opportunities for businesses and investors in the two countries to develop commercial relationships, using tourism and cultural exchange as entry points.

“Everyone should visit Kenya and fall in love. Most importantly, let us begin progressive conversations with action starting right here, right now, that benefit all of us from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and all our organisations and corporations in this very room,” Kirigua said.

The September 30 forum brought together representatives from the diplomatic, government, aviation, hospitality, investment and trade sectors from Kenya and other African countries, alongside business leaders from Washington and Maryland.

The initiative is targeting American leisure travellers, students, executives and investors while seeking to create opportunities for Kenyan tourism and hospitality companies to access the US market.

Tuua Safaris founder and chief executive Lucy Kimanzi said the company would develop travel programmes combining tourism, cultural exchange and investment opportunities.

“Just as we have numerous beautiful destinations to view from the coast to the safaris, we have engaging cultural exchange programmes that could help develop the youth, expand the mind of university students or globally expose the workforce within America,” Kimanzi said.

She said Tuua’s self-discovery and investment expeditions had attracted hundreds of travellers and were intended to establish longer-term relationships between visitors and the communities they visit.

Africaire Hospitality Group chief executive Ike Nwaneri said the partnership would also draw on African-owned restaurants, hotels and cultural experiences in the US to generate interest in travel to Africa.

“Tourism supports impactful missions of unity, progress and scale for many industries,” Nwaneri said.

He said greater exposure to African cuisine and culture among US consumers could create opportunities for subsequent travel, investment and commercial partnerships.

The Washington metropolitan area has been identified as an initial base for the initiative because of its concentration of diplomatic missions, international organisations, diaspora communities, businesses and transport infrastructure.

The organisers said subsequent engagements would focus on tourism and hospitality partnerships, business and investment exchanges, cultural storytelling and collaboration between public- and private-sector institutions.

Representatives from the embassies of Kenya, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia and Saint Lucia attended the launch, alongside officials and business leaders from Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

Those attending included Dr Oye Owolewa, US Shadow Representative for the District of Columbia; Shannetta Griffin, chief executive of the Maryland Aviation Administration; John Harvey, chief marketing officer at the Maryland Aviation Administration; and Branndon Jackson, chief operating officer of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation.

The forum also highlighted the role of African-owned businesses in the US in promoting the continent’s tourism and cultural industries. A four-course programme featuring East and West African cuisine was supported by AfriThrive Global and African-owned farms in Maryland.