Blog posts

Thoughts, stories, travel, business, and the occasional strong opinion

A collection of writing from across two decades of building, travelling, observing, and occasionally getting mildly irritated enough to write about it. Some posts are current, some are older pieces from the archive, but together they trace the ideas, journeys, businesses, and arguments that have shaped my work and worldview.

Axum - Old Church of St. Mary of Zion - Ethiopia Cultural Heritage

Africa’s cultural tourism wealth is hiding in plain sight

From Ethiopia’s ancient cities to Benin’s royal art, Africa has the cultural and historic attractions to drive new tourism growth …
Equal Earth Map showing Africa's true size

Equal Earth – Africa Was Never Small

Africa was never small. The map made it look that way. The UN General Assembly’s adoption of Equal Earth is …
Nairobi CBD KICC MICE

Kenya’s MICE opportunity: Building a nationwide conference economy

Kenya’s next tourism growth story may be written in conference halls. Nairobi is expanding its infrastructure and global reach, Mombasa …
Zanzibar - Experiencing some of the fastest tourism growth in Africa

Africa is rising fast. But it is still under-visited.

Africa is now the world’s fastest-growing tourism region, but it remains deeply under-visited relative to its population. Behind that gap …
Nairobi Skyline Hotel Investment Boom

Africa’s hotel investment boom is real, but uneven

Africa’s hotel investment pipeline is booming, but growth is concentrated. The real winners will be the markets that convert promising …
Nairobi Skyline Westlands CBD GTC

Urban Africa is becoming the next big tourism story

For too long, African cities were treated as gateways to safaris, beaches, and heritage sites. That story is changing fast …
Stone Town Sunset - Shangani Waterfront

Zanzibar Is Rising Fast. Kenya’s Coast Should Pay Attention.

Zanzibar is not outclassing Kenya as a whole. But in focused leisure tourism, it is pulling ahead of the Kenya …
Silva Gigiri - a new luxury hotel and residence in Gigiri. Image from the Silva website. I am an advisor to the developer

Silva Gigiri, Gulf Hotels Group, and a new level for Nairobi hospitality

As a strong signal around where the project is heading, the launch also picked up media coverage. KBC and KTN …
The Africa Forward Summit 2026 was held in Nairobi, Kenya 11-12 May 2026

Africa Forward Summit and the post-aid era

The Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi was an unambiguous example of how Africa-Europe relations have moved firmly into the post-aid …