June 5, 2008 — vol. 43, no 43
In Haiti, dreams of tourism deferred by riots, kidnapping
This image, taken on March 27, 2008, shows the historic Citadelle Laferrière in Milot, Haiti, one of the most impressive mountaintop fortresses in the world. Tourism was a pillar of the Haitian economy before decades of violence, political upheaval and bad press during the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic overtook its image. Pristine beaches emptied and historical hotels once celebrated by authors and Hollywood stars fell into disrepair. (AP photo/Ariana Cubillos)
MILOT, Haiti - The tour guides were waiting with bony, undersized horses to carry travelers to Haiti’s historic Citadelle Laferrière, one of the most impressive mountaintop fortresses in the world.
The tourism minister was waiting, bound proposals in hand, for an international donors conference to secure money to turn the impoverished country into the Caribbean’s next vacation hotspot.
Then violent street protests in April over soaring food costs killed at least seven and injured hundreds. Travel warnings grew more dire.
“Whatever happens in Port-au-Prince has an immediate impact on the image of Haiti as a vacation destination,” said former Tourism Minister Patrick Delatour, who lost his job when the Senate fired Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis over the food riots.
It may seem like an odd dream in a place where Royal Caribbean cruise ships dock at a locked and guarded beach compound, and kidnappings of foreigners run rampant. But many Haitians see tourism as the country’s way out of crisis.
Other than the 500,000 cruise passengers who visit the Royal Caribbean peninsula — billed until recently as “Labadee, Hispaniola” — few venture into Haiti, even from the Dominican Republic next door.
Meanwhile, its Spanish-speaking neighbor brings in more than $3.5 billion in revenues and millions of visitors to sprawling resorts and designer golf courses, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization.
Jamaica claims $2 billion from tourism each year despite high crime rates. Cuba pulls in similar tourist revenue, even with a U.S. embargo. But Haiti’s meager tourism industry earned less than 5 percent of that in 2005, according to the most recent available U.N. data.
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