Travel and Tourism

Minister Stéphanie Villedrouin continues her 2013 push to free Haiti from international aid through tourism. Remembering president Martelly's opening speech at the Caribbean Community's (Caricom) 24th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of State and Government, in which he called the tourism industry a key sector and stressed its potential and importance in driving the country's economic growth, Villedrouin spoke of the need for a Caribbean airline.

She highlighted that travel would be easier to destinations other than Haiti or Jamaica, citing the Dominican Republic, with whom the government wishes to create a multi-destination package, as one such country to benefit. While this plan may seem counter-productive to driving tourism to Haiti, it would make it easier for visitors to neighbouring islands to take sojourns to the country that may have been too cumbersome before.

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Tortug Air is a privately owned carrier in Haiti. It has made an application to US DOT, the United States Department of Transportation to seek permission to operate flights to the US.

Filing The Petition

Tortug Air has made a petition to operate flights non-stop from Cap Haitein International - Fort Lauderdale International service on a daily basis. Haiti is considered as a 'category two' country and it is a non compliant under the safety standards of aviation under FAA IASA or the ICAO the program. Hence the rental contract becomes necessary.

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Tourists going to the Dominican Republic are finding the visit a bit dangerous. In this regard the latest victim has been Patrick Alexis. On December 12, 2012, several bandits assaulted him with stones, injuring parts of his body and face.

Who Were The Victims Of Banditry

Patrick Alexis who had been assaulted by bandits received some medical care at the Dominican Republic's local hospital and he is fine at present.

He is not the only Haitian victim of crime. There have been others like the Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, Jean Tolbert Alexis, Paul Evans, Daniel Supplice and Daniel Torment who all have been subjected to assault by bandits in Haiti.

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When it comes to tourism, Haiti has many strikes against it. The instability of the government of Haiti (GOH) scares off private investors, and lack of a major strategy hinders tourism development. Development companies like Chemonics International Inc., who has received $196 million in funding since 2010, are another impediment, doing virtually nothing to improve Haiti's tourism infrastructure.

It's not only a paucity of funding to build up infrastructure with more resort areas and trained hospitality workers; it's how Haiti is marketing itself. One industry insider reports Haiti is not emphasizing eco-tourism; another, the island has fallen prey to travel packages that don't encourage side excursions. In addition, trans-cultural exporting drains the island of all its color and flavor. Instead of hearing Compás, Zouk, and Racine music, tourists listen to non-Haitian Reggae. Cuisine is also imported, displacing Haitian foods raised and harvested that make up the national dining experience.

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As part of a comprehensive initiative to bring more of the tourist trade to Haiti, Estrella contractors are building an annex to the Antoine-Simon Airport. Estrella, a Dominican Republic construction firm, will erect both a new terminal as well as a 3,000-meter airstrip. The government of Haiti (GOH) has commissioned the project to attract more tourism to the South Department.

On February 1, 2013, Haitian Prime Minister, Laurent Lamothe, placed the cornerstone of the terminal at a ground-breaking ceremony at Antoine-Simon Airport attended by representatives of the Les Cayes Mayor's Office, along with other government officials. In his remarks, Lamothe spoke of the GOH's wisdom in viewing the Haitian tourist industry as among the "promising sectors" for continued infrastructure development in the country. He added investing in Les Cayes with this expansion project will help the Haitian tourism industry produce many thousands of fresh jobs in the South Department.

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Near the city of Jacmel and on your way to Marigot, there are miles of undeveloped coastlines. Located on the outside of town is the imposing Ti-Mouillage Beach. This beautiful coast line is located approximately 17 km from Jacmel.

While you are on the beach of Ti-Mouillage, you will find several attractions

After enjoying a great time at Ti-Mouillage, you can go to the Fort Oge which was part of twenty Forts constructed after Haiti independence as a defensive system in the event the the French decided to return to the island to impose once again slavery. Fort Oge got its name after Vincent Oge , a leading figure of the Haitian Revolution.

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The Ministry of Tourism in Haiti has succeeded in forming a Tourism Advisory Council (TAC), approved by an official government order issued on December 5, 2012. The tourism board, made up of public- and private-sector agencies and other tourism-related organizations, met for the first time on January 15, 2013.

Haiti Minister of Tourism (MOT) Stephanie Villedrouin is the chairwoman of the newly-conceived TAC. She presented TAC's mission with a wide-ranging agenda of goals, responsibilities, areas of interest, contracts, and application of a Master Plan.

The first agenda item of TAC aims at getting the government of Haiti (GOH) to allow MOT the opportunity to form partnerships with public and private tourist organizations to share knowledge and resources. TAC, Villedrouin explained, will bear responsibility for initiating proposals to overcome challenges while developing Haiti's tourism industry. This will involve creating policies and programs to make Haiti's history, cultural roots, and art-making sectors marketing tools in courting the tourist trade.

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A warning has been issued to citizens of Haiti against all non essential travel to the United States especially considering the current situation prevailing there. In Washington D.C. the highest number of hate crimes has been committed. To respond to emergencies or crimes, the local authorities have limited abilities in certain areas.

Reasons To Avoid Travel

Shootings on a mass scale, gun violence, depression at high rate, ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder and epidemic rates of people getting overweight, etc are on the rise in the US. Citizens of Haiti are urged to exercise caution while visiting US.

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Haiti has slowly been getting back to its feet after the 2010 earthquake and one way of doing that is by bringing Transar to the country.

We have been trying out innovative ways in order to bring revenue to the country through its different industries. One of the recent industries the government has been focusing on and trying to promote in the international community is that of tourism, utilizing the natural beauty and splendor of the island country.

Haiti has great potential in becoming the leading tourist destination in the tropical Caribbean, thanks to the recent partnership between the Haitian tourism sector and an international tour company for this winter season. Transat A.T., Inc., a Canadian-based tour operator, has recently offered vacation packages to Haiti starting on the 23rd of January, 2013. Montreal will be the tour's origin where 30 seats per flight provided by Air Transat and Air Canada shall be designated for the tour package.

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Marriott and Digicel have brokered a partnership agreement to build Marriott's first luxury hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The ground-breaking ceremonies took place on Wednesday December 19, 2012.

Anticipating an influx of business travelers flying into Port-au-Prince, Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott International, feels certain the partnership between Marriott and Digicel can contribute significantly to Haiti's recovery efforts. He asserts job creation of more than 1,000-plus positions in the hospitality industry will actualize the potential talent existing among the population of Port-au-Prince and adjacent areas. He added together Digicel and Marriott can put the country back on its feet and in time re-establish Port-au-Prince as a premier travel destination.

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