Ireland and Britain specialist CIE Tours is partnering with the African American Irish Diaspora Network to foster relationships between African Americans, Ireland and the Irish diaspora through programming, marketing and product development.
According to the AAIDN, nearly 40% of African Americans have some Irish ancestry. AAIDN was formed in 2020 to foster shared heritage and culture through entrepreneurship, innovation, education and arts.
CIE and AAIDN will partner with Quinnipiac University professor Christine Kinealy to highlight travel along the Frederick Douglass Way heritage and tourism trail in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The trail is based on where Frederick Douglass, a prominent African American abolitionist and orator who had escaped slavery, went during his visit to Ireland in 1845. The sites include Dublin, Cork, Belfast and other locations.
CIE and AAIDN will work together to develop Ireland tour itineraries for groups with an interest in the intersection of African American and Irish history and culture.
Also, CIE is collaborating with AAIDN on a summer internship program for students of historically black colleges and universities to introduce them to the travel industry, with a focus on Ireland and leisure travel.