Port-au-Prince.– Then violent street protests in April over
soaring food costs killed at least seven and injured hundreds in Haiti. 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
Edouard 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.
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
" Jamaica claims $2 billion from tourism each year despite high crime rates." let this be a lesson to the DR...... perceived crime rates will be the kiss of death to Jamaica..... each year it gets worse and this is becoming true for other english speaking islands in the Caribbean where bad attitudes and lawlessness prevail.....Haiti is an example of " extreme tourism " who needs that much adventure ?....believe it or not for friendliness and service and price quality ratio DR is #1 as well as volume.......Keep up the good work and keep improving the infrastructure
From: United States
Unfortunately for Haiti, Labadee is marketed as a private island of RCCL and notice its locale (Hispaniola). This is done to divert attention to the fact that it is truly in Haiti proper. Hispaniola does not have the same negative connotation as Haiti since most people without any sense of geography may think its just another exotic island in the Caribbean or those who do have a geographical sense may think it is part of the DR. You wouldn't want to scare 500,000 cruise visitors now would you? I think tourism is Haiti's way out of its misery but it needs to start with a concerted effort by the Haitian government, the Haitian ruling class and the education of the general population that this industry will bring about some prosperity (eventually).
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
Hunk RCCL called it Hispaniola if they had to call it anything .........for the last 20 years.... this is not recent
From: Haiti
They stopped advertising Labadee as simply Hispaniola for years now so all the visitors know they're in Haiti. Not only does the welcoming sign say Haiti but their is a Haitian flea market there as well as Haitian musicians (guitarists) serenading the cruise passengers all around the beaches.
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
not RCCL pax...they may tell them if they ask ...but advertising is not the correct word
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
."..It wasn't always this bleak. Tourism was a pillar of the Haitian economy under the oppressive but stable dictatorships of Francois and Jean-Claude Duvalier, with hundreds of thousands drawn each year to its tropical vistas and voodoo rhythms " yes this is true until screwed it up with that miserable dwarf Aristide.....read the whole story...
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Haiti-Tourism-Setback.htmlFrom: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
this can be put on the doorstep of Bubba Clinton a bunch of lefty liberals and the Black Congressional Caucus .....more or less the same bunch thats always criticizing the DR for its treatment of Haitian refugees.....they caused most of the problem in the first place
Written by: Jander, 1 Jun 2008 9:22 PM
From: Dominican Republic
If things were so great then why were they fleeing by the thousands ?
"It was the storming of the Florida beaches by Haitian refugees that sped U.S. military action to rid Haiti of its dictator rulers and allow Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide to return to his rightful elective role of president"
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
jander usually you are correct ....no one said it was paradise and haitain boat refugees were still coming ....but there was still an economy and tourism potential ...that is now all gone....if you dont remember Maxine Waters Ron Dellum and Conyers and Rangel and that group constantly lobbying for Aristide your memory does not serve you well.....oppressive but stable the article said
Written by: Lautaro, 2 Jun 2008 8:08 AM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
For once we agree on something GC: on the contemptible nature of the American Left and its press. They're like the people that throw the stones and hide the hand that throws it at the same time. I may suffer a crucifixion for this, but this irresponsible behaviour from this party is the reason that explains why it's better for the DR that the Republicans stay on power in the US, because, were the democrats to win the election, our country would be incessantly annoyed by the rantings and demands of the Congressional Black Caucus, which is in its great majority of democrat-liberal extraction, at least that's my POV.
From: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
Lautaro you got that absolutemente correcto !
From: United States
lautaro--You "my friend" is a typical republican. Spewing your hate and opinions when it is not asked or needed. In this post you veered off the subject completely. If you know anything about your precious republican party than you would understand that your parties views have completely changed. No longer are the republicans conservatives, their radical war loving ways, have been installed in the last three republican presidents and it will certaintly be installed in a fourth if Mccain is elected. Don't believe me have a look at this article ...
http://media.www.theallstate.com/.....Just.Good.Business-2730679.shtmlso sir or madam, keep your united states politics to your united states blogs. The democrats will firstly look after the country and anything else will come second. The dominican republic is not their playground. Leonel Fernandez is an excellent president and he will manage.
Written by: Lautaro, 2 Jun 2008 6:01 PM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
You´re the one which is on a bubble, mr. fakedominican, because, if you haven't been studying our history as you should if it's true that you're dominican, then you'll find that BOTH US interventions on the DR have been carried out by democrat administrations (the first one on 1916 by the Woodrow Wilson admin. and the 1965 one by the Johnson admin.). Also, where were you when the Congressional Black Caucus did their "inspection" on the dominican bateys on 2006? Surely you must have been having fun with your cynical friends while that act of hipocrisy happened (it's an act of hipocrisy because it would be the US marines which would create the batey system in the first place). Lastly, mr. fake, if you haven't been paying attention, it's the democrats, with Ted Kennedy at the head, which have been giving support to Solange Pierre and all the other DR detractors, so you'll excuse me, but the only sentiment that I'm holding right now for the democrats is utter contempt.
Written by: Lautaro, 2 Jun 2008 6:11 PM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
Lastly, mr. fake, I'm not giving my support to the republicans out of personal love to that party, but as a matter of convenience, because I understand that the only thing that concerns them right now is the safety of Israel and their oil interests in the Middle East, which is all fine by me, because that means that they'll keep their imperial noses out Latin American affairs. God only knows how much this sub-continent have suffered because of the democrats meddlesome behaviour. For example, they haven't had the guts to recognize that Aristide was just as bad for the health of the haitian democracy as the opposition that was arrayed against him, and what's worse, they are still believing in him and sustaining all his lies as we speak.
From: United States
haha..you are a very amusing individual. If you are indeed voting for a republican out of self/ patriotic reasons, then you are voting for the wrong party. The weakness of the dollar has already had a direct negative influence on the Dominican Economy. The national average of gas is about six dollars a gallon, more inportantly, the housing sector has fallen a dramatic 50%. If this is no concern to you then you "my friend" is the real fake Dominican. Also with these high gas prices expect the tourism sector also to be hit. If you want to talk about real Imperialism then concern yourself with Europe, It is alarming how much land and business they own and how much more debt we are amounting from the Europeans. I may not have been born in the 1960's but I am aware of these events and I do agree with your views on these subjects. But I'd rather deal with My neighbors than with these racist, money-pinching, Europeans and these inspections that you talk of are a direct effect of the French
From: United States
The French started complaining about Hatians and their so-called slave labor. If Europe wants to put up this argument then they should start in their own back yard. Lastly, sir or madam, I am more of a Dominican than most, since I don't know you, I will not say that I am more of a Dominican than you. I say this because of my impoverished background ( even though most Dominicans aren't the richest.) I will not go into a rant about how poor I was but I've experienced everything a typical Dominican has.
Written by: Lautaro, 2 Jun 2008 7:26 PM
From: Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo
Still, I stick to what I have said. At least the europeans don´t have the power to send a 82nd Airborne if things go badly with their investments/political interests as our neighbors up north have. You must be really prejudiced against the europeans if you think that the US will let them meddle in an island that is basically their property, as Juan Bosch once said. If things go badly for the european investments, the yankees will do as they once did with the debts incurred by the Heureaux government: Pay the europeans what is due to them, then take posession of that debt for themselves, along with everything else. Oh, and it's a sir, thank you very much.
Written by: arcatype 
, 2 Jun 2008 8:30 PM
From: Dominican Republic
Lautaro the socialist!!!!! ha ha.
From: United States
What would the history books say about Mr. Bush and Latin America had 9/11 not occurred?
Congressional black caucus may be a thorn to DR but that's neither here nor there, just Democratic theatrics.
Foreign policy is not so much GOP vs. Democrats as it is realists & humanitarians versus neocons & nationalists (McCain). The funny thing is if you compare the ends (and even the means) there is similarity in the three...just a difference in degree and subtlety, not in kind. Presidents and parties only affect the tone; realists would say foreign relations between states operate according to their own logic. So I have to disagree with Lautaro that either/or party is better for DR.
Haiti, well... what is left to say?
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"It was the storming of the Florida beaches by Haitian refugees that sped U.S. military action to rid Haiti of its dictator rulers and allow Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide to return to his rightful elective role of president"
http://media.www.theallstate.com/.....Just.Good.Business-2730679.shtml
so sir or madam, keep your united states politics to your united states blogs. The democrats will firstly look after the country and anything else will come second. The dominican republic is not their playground. Leonel Fernandez is an excellent president and he will manage.
Congressional black caucus may be a thorn to DR but that's neither here nor there, just Democratic theatrics.
Foreign policy is not so much GOP vs. Democrats as it is realists & humanitarians versus neocons & nationalists (McCain). The funny thing is if you compare the ends (and even the means) there is similarity in the three...just a difference in degree and subtlety, not in kind. Presidents and parties only affect the tone; realists would say foreign relations between states operate according to their own logic. So I have to disagree with Lautaro that either/or party is better for DR.
Haiti, well... what is left to say?