Is this the beginning of the Haitian tourism threat to the DR?

Is this the beginning of a major competitor for the Dominican tourism industry?


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NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Saw this in The Wall Street Journal.

Haiti Pitches a Ritzy Oasis on an Island of Misfortune
Nation Needs $350 Million to Develop 16-Mile Stretch


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A rendering of the proposed resort development at C?t? de Fer, Haiti. Ministry of Tourism of Haiti

The Haitian government is seeking partners for a seemingly daunting task: building a world-class resort destination in one of the world's poorest countries.

This nation of 10 million people has chosen a 16-mile stretch of largely unoccupied beachfront on the country's southern coast, known as C?t? de Fer, on which to build. Haiti's Ministry of Tourism estimates it will need up to $350 million in private investment to develop the area, including infrastructure such as utilities, a sewer system and roads.

The plan calls for a new international airport, an 18-hole golf course and 4,000 new hotel rooms, which would be a 50% increase from the island's current room count.

The government is aiming for the first phase of the plan, which includes four hotels and the airport with its own passport station, to open by 2017.

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Tourism minister Stephanie Villedrouin Balmir is courting investors. Keith Bedford for the Wall Street Journal

Read the full article (the article also includes a podcast titled "WSJ RADIO" where Crag Karmin discusses the Haitian tourism project): Haiti Pitches a Ritzy Oasis on an Island of Misfortune - WSJ

What are some advantages/disadvantages Haiti has in order to develop its tourism industry to rival the DR's?

BTW, Grupo Puntacana (aka Rainieri, Keel, Iglesias, etc) has agreed to build and manage the airport that will be built in the new Haitian tourist project.
 

chic

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Nov 20, 2013
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i would manage the airport also....as long as im not paying for it (has to be built)
 

greydread

Platinum
Jan 3, 2007
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If it were a group of Haitian businessmen seeking partners it would have a chance to at least begin a tourism trade which would grow to maturity in 15 or 20 years. Of all the prospective partners I can think of the Haitian government is the last on the list.
 

mountainannie

Platinum
Dec 11, 2003
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elizabetheames.blogspot.com
The airport is the missing king pin, and bravo to the Punta Cana group for helping Haiti develop the tourism AGAIN. Many may not remember but Haiti had a thriving tourist business long before the A1 resorts were built in Punta Cana so it is not as if they are starting from scratch. The fine hotels in Petionville are really wonderful. The cooking is exquisite, French, as is the service.

Plus, they have lamb!! not just lambi!

But it is going to take more than one hotel, or a few years to get over the massively increased poverty since the earthquake and cholera.

But I hope that they do.

I do not think that the DR has to worry. Whatever comes out of Haiti will be very different from here, and attract a different sort of traveler.

There are already a few small hotels on the South coast, but it is hard to get there. The roads, I hear, are .. well.. there is a good one from Jacmel to PauP but then really you have to fly. Anything there is going to be more expensive, I would think.
 

jkc

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Jun 24, 2013
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Have you guys ever visited L'ILE A VACHES, PORT SALUT, LABADIE AND OTHER PLACES LIKE JACMEL, LS CAYES?
HAITI HAS THE BEST OCEANS IN THE ENTIRE CARIBBEAN! THEY JUST NEED TO PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER AND THAT WILL BE IT!
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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This is no surprise.

I can speak from first-hand knowledge that Les Cayes and l’?le ? Vache have been targeted by the Haiti MoT as the their "Punta Cana."

Additionally, there is a group trying to create a banking haven on Ile de la Gonave.
 

pauleast

*** I love DR1 ***
Jan 29, 2012
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Haiti will become a recognized family vacation destination around the same time as Sosua.
 

mountainannie

Platinum
Dec 11, 2003
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Having the Haitian government involved is important for getting the land titles. Land is held by various families, sometimes families in the Diaspora just hold their land completely vacant, with only one farmer or something. Folks know that the land belongs to the such and such family and will not just overrun it.

Haiti does have beautiful beaches and probably much better diving than here in the DR.
 

Gabriela

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Dec 4, 2003
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Having the Haitian government involved is important for getting the land titles. Land is held by various families, sometimes families in the Diaspora just hold their land completely vacant, with only one farmer or something. Folks know that the land belongs to the such and such family and will not just overrun it.

Haiti does have beautiful beaches and probably much better diving than here in the DR.

I've been visiting Sosua and other places in the DR since 1976, and can report that the all-inclusives and massive development of the DR tourism industry have ruined the coral reefs and clouded the diving there. You just can't have massive amounts of garbage and sewage being dumped offshore. May Samana never suffer the same fate or the whales will move to Haiti.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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I've been visiting Sosua and other places in the DR since 1976, and can report that the all-inclusives and massive development of the DR tourism industry have ruined the coral reefs and clouded the diving there. You just can't have massive amounts of garbage and sewage being dumped offshore. May Samana never suffer the same fate or the whales will move to Haiti.

glad you posted this. i have said it many times here that you can only develop tourism to a point, after which it encounters a phenomenon known as uneconomic growth. you can get more and more heads in the beds, but a point of diminishing marginal returns sets in, and the thing becomes unsustainable because the environment simply does not have the carrying capacity for the load. so, while Danilo blathers on about 10 million tourists by 2015, he might be better off not getting what he wishes for. in 20 years, the tourist industry will have gone down the crapper, because of environmental damage.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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Cuba - it's slowly opening up politically, when it opens up completely and US sanctions are lifted, there will start a major flow of tourism from the USA (big whooau) and Cuba will be more competition than Haiti will ever be in 20 years.
 
Aug 6, 2006
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Cuba is physically more impressive than the DR, with all those beautiful offshore islands. Cuba has three or four times the coastline of Hispaniola. But until the Castros are gone, I do not see anyone putting in the money to build really great resorts. Of course, the cost to the tourist is also important, and price competition is likely.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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Cuba is physically more impressive than the DR, with all those beautiful offshore islands. Cuba has three or four times the coastline of Hispaniola. But until the Castros are gone, I do not see anyone putting in the money to build really great resorts. Of course, the cost to the tourist is also important, and price competition is likely.

you are kidding, right?

5-star Hotels in Varadero - TripAdvisor
 

Conchman

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Jul 3, 2002
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Have you guys ever visited L'ILE A VACHES, PORT SALUT, LABADIE AND OTHER PLACES LIKE JACMEL, LS CAYES?
HAITI HAS THE BEST OCEANS IN THE ENTIRE CARIBBEAN! THEY JUST NEED TO PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER AND THAT WILL BE IT!

They've been banging their hands together for a while, thats why can't get anything done. :D