Abdoul Aziz Gueye.

Senegal’s director of North American tourism told GlobalAtlanta that his office may soon move out of New York’s Empire State Building to the Empire State of the South during a visit to Georgia March 18.

Abdoul Aziz Gueye had already visited Atlanta in early March to research office and housing costs, which he reported to the Ministry of Tourism in Senegal’s capital.

“My heart and my mind are here in Atlanta, I’m waiting for Dakar to give the green light,” he said.

Though tourism is the second most profitable industry in the West African nation behind fishing, the three-person New York headquarters is Senegal’s only promotional office outside of the country. 

Mr. Aziz said that the move is being considered to bring representatives closer to untapped markets in the Southeast.

His most recent visit was to attend a monthly meeting of the Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa’s Atlanta chapter, a group of travel industry professionals and others interested in promoting the continent.

He and his associates make routine trips across the U.S. and Canada giving similar presentations.

During the presentation, Mr. Aziz said that he does not promote Senegal as a safari destination, though the country has game parks and wildlife similar to other African nations, but focuses on the country’s culture, particularly the element of “teranga.”

“Some people define teranga as hospitality, but more than that teranga is honor,” he said, adding that the term describes the welcoming and inclusive nature of the Senegalese.

The country has a diverse cultural heritage, due in part to Dakar’s position as the westernmost city in mainland Africa.

The arrival of Islam in the 11th century and French colonization in the 17th made the area a crossroads for cultural exchange and important trading center between Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Today Dakar’s position makes it destination for Delta Air Lines Inc., which flies there direct from its main hub in Atlanta.  This year the city is to become a transfer point for Delta flights to Cape Town, South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya.

Mr. Aziz said that Gorée Island, once a departure point in the slave trade to America, is now a cultural and historic site.

An annual jazz festival in Saint-Louis, north of Dakar, draws musicians from all over the world.

The country’s natural features include the more than 3,500-square-mile Niokolo-Koba game park and Lake Retba, or the “pink lake,” a body of water with a high salt content that gives the water a pinkish hue.

Mr. Aziz also said that Senegal has been a stable democracy since independence in 1960.  Although French is the country’s official language, English is required in Senegal’s schools, making it an easy nation to navigate for U.S. tourists.