Founded in 1962 by Geoffrey Kent with his parents Colonel and Mrs John Kent as a safari company in Nairobi, Kenya, Abercrombie & Kent has become a name synonymous with top quality in the tour travel industry. As an international group of companies, A&K provides upscale adventures and luxury travel in more than 100 countries on all seven continents.
In 1965 Geoffrey Kent became Managing Director of the company and the following year, Colonel and Mrs Kent retired from active participation. In the 1970s he met, and later entered into full partnership with Jorie Butler of Oak Brook, Illinois, opening offices in the United States and London to service European and American markets. Today they spend a good part of every year making reconnaissance in outlying parts of the world to evaluate the economic and environmental potential for high-quality tour operations.
The A&K Group of Companies comprises 50 worldwide and satellite offices, including London, Paris, Cairo, Nairobi, Arusha, Kampala, Johannesburg, New Delhi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Lima, Phnom Penh, Shanghai and Beijing. The significance of operating its own offices in the USA and abroad cannot be overstated. Employing more than 3000 travel professionals worldwide, A&K overseas locations are staffed by local residents of each country who quite naturally impact an intimate knowledge of their culture, and love for their homeland, to visiting travellers.