Kenya is seeking to deepen tourism, investment and trade links with the United States through a new partnership between Nairobi-based Tuua Safaris and US-based Africaire Hospitality Group.

The partnership, unveiled at a Kenya Embassy-hosted forum in Washington, D.C., on September 30, establishes the “Tourism Triangle,” a platform to connect Kenya, the Washington metropolitan region and, eventually, Caribbean markets through tourism, cultural exchange and business partnerships.

Kenya’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, Ambassador Christopher Kirigua, said the initiative would open new avenues for Kenyan and American businesses and investors to collaborate, with tourism and cultural exchange as the entry points.

“Everyone should visit Kenya and fall in love,” he said, urging stakeholders to turn conversations into action.

The initiative targets growing interest in Kenya among American leisure travellers, students, executives and investors, while helping Kenyan tourism and hospitality businesses access the US market.

Tuua Safaris Founder and CEO Lucy Kimanzi said the company will use the partnership to promote curated travel programmes that combine tourism, cultural immersion and investment opportunities.

Hundreds of visitors

She said Tuua’s self-discovery and investment expeditions have already attracted hundreds of travellers and are designed to build lasting relationships between visitors and host communities.

Africaire Hospitality Group CEO Ike Nwaneri said the platform will also leverage African restaurants, hotels and cultural experiences in the US to build interest in travel to the continent. Exposing American consumers to African cultures and cuisines, he said, could lead to subsequent travel, investment and commercial partnerships.

Organisers say the Washington region offers a strategic base because of its concentration of embassies, international organisations, diaspora communities, businesses and transport infrastructure.

The partnership will start with Kenya and the Washington D.C. Maryland market before expanding to other US and Caribbean markets.

Future engagements will focus on tourism and hospitality partnerships, business and investment exchanges, cultural storytelling, and links between public and private institutions.

The launch drew diplomats, government officials and business leaders, including representatives of the embassies of Kenya, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia and St Lucia.

Other notable guests included Maryland Aviation Administration CEO Shannetta Griffin and Chief Marketing Officer John Harvey, and Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation COO Branndon Jackson.

The event also spotlighted African-owned businesses in the US as promoters of the continent’s tourism and cultural industries, with a four-course East and West African menu supported by AfriThrive Global and local African-owned farms in Maryland.