Haiti Earthquake
How can tourism help Haiti
Haiti could best be described as the biblical Job of the Western Hemisphere and has the unfortunate distinction of having practically every form of crisis event visited upon it and its people in recent years. The recent earthquake that has destroyed much of the capital Port au Prince is the greatest calamity in a long line of natural disasters the country has experienced. Coupled with political instability, environmental degradation due to uncontrolled deforestation, chronic poverty, crime and massive social inequalities it seems at first glance that tourism and Haiti are utterly at odds. Yet prior to this week’s earthquake there was some real hope that Haiti, with a great deal of help from the UN and the USA, may be assisted towards recovery.
In March 2009, former US President Bill Clinton was appointed as a special Emissary of the UN Secretary General. Clinton visited Haiti with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to offer US$324 million in rebuilding aid for Haiti over a two-year period. In addition, private investors including George Soros expressed willingness to invest in infrastructure. Tourism development was seen as a fast track to generate employment and build links between Haiti and the wider world. Haiti was gradually being included in Caribbean cruise itineraries and packaged holidays. Under the administration of Prime Minister Michelle Pierre- Louis political leadership was making real progress towards restoring political stability.
The destruction of the Haitian capital has placed all the above developments on hold as Haiti regional neighbors and the wider international community are rightly focused on a massive rescue and relief program to deal with a massive toll of deaths and injuries, widespread destruction of property, infrastructure and disrupted transport and telecommunications. The extent of damage in Haiti parallels the worst experienced during the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Clearly, in the immediate to short term tourism will be taking a back seat until the immediate rescue; relief and recovery effort can be mobilized and implemented. However, the unprecedented nature of this disaster presents an opportunity for the international tourism community to initiate a plan for tourism to be an integral part of a longer-term restoration of Haiti. A precedent does exist for this. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami the UN World Tourism Organization convened an emergency meeting held in Phuket in January 2005 to develop a plan for the recovery of tourism in affected areas and many elements of this plan were adopted by Thailand and Sri Lanka. The situation for Haiti is actually far more challenging than it was for Thailand and Sri Lanka as tourism infrastructure in Haiti prior to the earthquake was at a relatively embryonic level.
However a sustainable tourism master plan for Haiti which would address environmental degradation through reforestation, establishment of infrastructure which would focus on simple, and rapidly built community tourism accommodation and resorts which would involve local people in their construction and management. Transplanting western style tourism infrastructure in Haiti may create some wealth for some Haitians but would not really be a long term and broadly encompassing solution for Haiti. Community tourism would also preset an alternative to the resort style accommodation, which dominates the Caribbean.
The world tourism community has an opportunity, created by the current disaster to help Haiti emerge from its long nightmare. Donations and expressions of support are the right things to do in the short term but tourism is in a position to play a part in Haiti’s longer-term route to recovery.
The author is a senior lecturer in Tourism at the University of Technology –Sydney.
Comments
After having read the book on this website from from to back I do agree that the suggestions to allow Haiti to solve it's own problems through the assistance of various groups globally is what should happen. I hear that at present the need to adress immediate means to survive are most important before any form of industry can take hold. Given the history of Haiti, I do not imagine this culturally rich region of the world to adjust rapidly. This nation has a strong background at which efforts to exploit it would be very hard to administer, from a travel prespective. I believe that Haiti in the long run will benefit from tourism. Tourism is a scary word to some people. Yes everyone talks about sustainable tourism but what does that mean? Obviously it is tourism that acknowledges the environment in some shape or form, trying to protect it. Haiti having deforested a large percentage of their environment is currently at a loss in this department. That being said, weve already agreed that other forms of infrastructure need to emerge before the tourism inductry can take hold. I know most people associate tourism with every other caribean nations vast ugly resorts that depricate the culture and give little to the locals. There are other means such as: ecotourism, volun-tourism, industrial tourism(the visiting of factories by tourists), agricultural tourism(a possible solution for haiti, visit a banana plantation), adventure tourism, and cultural tourism (as long as it is tourism ran by the people of haiti sharing what they wish to share with outsiders, no foreign companies). I thought I would mention a few alternatives that link tourism to other industries like farming, fishing, and the day to day life of the Haitian people. After having read the booklet here, I was both touched by the need of funding for haiti's personal direction, and horrified when i saw the words ''the next Cancun'' this would surely help Haiti recover however it would be temporary and in the long-term detrimental on Haiti in my opinion.
While Tourism was my original goal when I actively got engaged in helping Haiti back in 2004, I learned very quickly that the problems with Haiti were systemic of such a huge infrastructure nature, that tourism must wait as Haiti is virtually in the cave man era, due to her 20th century pillaging by her leadership and lack of a police force, evidenced by the presence for years, of the U.N. Peacekeeping force, MINUSTAH.
Nobody is more optimistic than I am for Haiti as I love the people and have been there many times and with another of the travel industry, built a three building orphanage in Petion-Ville. (Patrick O'Shea)
However, all historians agree that the first thing that a nation requires, before jobs, or anything else is PUBLIC SAFETY. Haiti has no army..it was disbanded by Aristede as it was turned against him by those who wanted to overthrow his efforts to help the poor.
Haiti has perhaps 9000 underpaid policemen for the whole nation of 9 Million!!
I spoke with a company who went there two years ago to develop biodiesel from the Jatropha plant. He told me he had to give up due to safety, trucks stolen etc.
My plan for Haiti has been carefully developed, I have it in French and English and it can be found at WWW.MIKESPINELLI.COM or at http://bit.ly/5kYGxM
If you look at a map of Haiti, you will see a large island in the bay of Gonave. It is the Island of Gonave. 14 times larger than Bermuda. Just received electricity two years ago!!
Here are some exerpts from my Haiti Reconstruction Report (Which I sent to President Clintron the day he received the UN job for Haiti) are here:
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere
It qualifies as a "fourth" world country
-Water-borne diseases are the second most common cause of death in children under five
-50% of the hospital beds in Haiti are occupied by patients with water-borne diseases
-Only 58% of Haitians have access to clean water, and 19% have access to good sanitation
-The infant mortality rate is 60/1,000 live births
-The population of this country is 8.5.million
-6.2 million live below the poverty line, almost 3/4ths of the population
-Nearly 7.2 million lack access to reliable energy
-Life expectancy for women is 56, and for men it is 52
-Uemployment rate is 70%
THE BOTTOM LINE: This is not just another Jamaica or St. Lucia! This is a nation where the vast majority lives on a dollar a day, does not have access to clean water and children are sold cookies made of clay doused with olive oil and bacteria!
My booklet on saving Haiti calls for a blue ribbon, no holds barred, government backed group of us to go to Haiti and recreate this great nation!!
Please read the booklet which is on my personal web site as well as a special one. I can be reached at any time through ASTA headquarters.
I am the first to applaud the efforts of this column to venture towards tourism, however, my report on Haiti gives the steps to take,and then: I predict that if we could get moving some of the outsourcing of manufacturing going all over the world, moved to Haiti, you will see the a country come alive with toursism that would make the development of Cancun and Las Vegas pale to the opportunity for a country just 700 miles from Florida with WARM WEATHER in winter!!!!
Gonave alone would flourish as her own international development! A new name could be given her. UTOPIA
I would devote my life to Helping Haiti if I could see changes in Haiti.
Unfortunately, it will take a new generation of Haitians to develop this great nation and I personally know many who are ready for the project. But, Haiti must understand that if they keep doing what they have always done, they will always get what they always got. This is their current modus operandi!!
They must go on a road to stopping the enormous charity stream forced upon them and attack the causes of all their problems, NOT the effects of them. Charity only perpetuates Poverty and enriches those who live selling goods to the recipients. (Many desire a perpetuation of the poverty as their businesses depend upon the 2 Billion dollar annual inflow. I am very serious on this point which came from Haitians I talk to)
I have served as assistant to the chair of the Haitian League and am very close to their problems, which few want to even bring up in conversation and the keep getting swept under the rug, as you have unfortunately seen if you are over 50.
Haiti's motto is: "In unity is the strength." I have only scratched the surface in describing what a 4th World Nation looks like, but, if we do not stay with pure truth, we will get nowhere.
Anyone who doubts what they read here should google: CITE SOLEIL the City of the Sun, just next to the Palace of Haiti in Port au Prince. See what you see when you google: IMAGES as the category of search.
Haiti's recovery CANNOT be accomplished without an adequate police force, and, I have personally met with their former Prime Minister and current President who do not speak of this. They feel that industry does not come to Haiti due to instable government. This is not true. It is safety and safety alone as the nation has has to retain the MINUSTAH, THE U.N. POLICE FORCE (Whose leader was killed by the earthquake)
In Kreole the word is Pa Senp (A tough job)
My plan for the reconstuction of Haiti is on my web site: www.mikespinelli.com or at http://bit.ly/5kYGxM
The report on Haiti has my old address on line. My new address is below:
Mike Spinelli,
Global Tourism Solutions
Past President ASTA
2565 Ocean Boulevard, Box 760, Rye Beach, NH 03871
Author of:
Tourism: The Engine of Prosperity
Tourism may well non be always the only right solution, anyway if you see the situation in Hispaniola (half Haiti and half Dominican Republic) you see that where the economic situation is better you have a better recovery from the earthquake. Before building it is anyway always important to study about where and how, in the fully respect of environmental resources. Here in Italy, fm where I write it is not always well done and the results are AGAIN: destruction, earthquakes deep damages, river overflowings, etc. So, before tourism development, pay attention to enviroment.
Had Haiti been managed properly in the first place, it could have been a perfect place for tourism. But alas, once independent, The country was grossly mismanaged by dictators, had coups, etc. on a chronic basis as well as chronic hurricane hits.
The poverty resulted in non-existent building codes which added to the effectiveness of natural disasters which ensured continued poverty. It's like Haiti needs to be evacuated and rebuild from the ground up, something that's not going to happen. Really sad.
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