The idea of making Haiti into a tourist destination beyond Labadee is great if they can really put the wheels in motion and build resorts that are competitive with existing ones in the area i.e. the DR (prime competition), Cuba, the Bahamas and Jamaica. The potential revenue from additional resorts I think is lucrative but they are a long way off from turning around the current state of affairs.
I have never been to Haiti and the thought of it being a prime resort destination in the near future is exciting (for the country potentially to rise from its ruins) but what will it take to get me on a plane from Canada since Canadians are the target market and go to Haiti, a country that has a tarnished reputation due to political unrest and poverty, in addition to the recent destruction caused by the 2010 earthquake and the cholera outbreak in the same year? That question I don't have the answer to and may not even have it when the resorts are built and charter flights are flying out from Canada's largest cities which will most likely be Montreal and Toronto.
Canadians like to travel to resort destinations in the Caribbean but other than Montrealers and some Torontonians how many know about Haiti? I doubt the percentage is very high. The Haitian diaspora is large and visible in Montreal. I live the reality and I agree with the article they will target these travelers to lure them back to their island and spend some dollars in Haiti but what about the other half of the target which is the rest of Canadians? What kind of marketing strategy will be used to get Canadians to go to Haiti instead of traditional places of choice like the DR and Cuba?
Some Haitians have told me that their country is beautiful and foreigners who have never visited don't get to see beyond the images presented in the media etc. and this I believe is true because I have seen some beautiful photos of Haiti's landscape and wonderful architecture that reflects its French heritage which I compare to French-speaking countries and regions around the world. The culture is evident via architecture and for sure in other aspects as well.
I enjoyed what I read about Haiti's future via tourism in this article as yet another stepping stone in (re)building this turbulent and battled Caribbean nation. Believe it or not if they pull it off, I will be there one day.
Article from the Gazette (Montreal) Haiti targets tourism as growth area
Que viva Haiti.....
-Marianopolita.