Haiti is reporting measurable results following the government’s four-year campaign to boost
tourist arrivals as a means of rebuilding the country’s economy following the
2010 earthquake. Working through Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism
and Creative Industries, the government has invested $345 million in
tourism-oriented projects, infrastructure and related services in the past four
years, officials said.
The impact of those
investments is evident in Haiti’s growing visitor arrivals. In 2014, Haiti
hosted 1,127,577 visitors, including 662,403 cruise ship passengers and 465,174
overnight, land-based tourists. The 2014 total represents a 10.8 percent
increase compared with 2013. A year earlier, Haiti received 1,063,370 visitors
(643,634 cruise passengers and 419,736 overnight tourists) a 20.2 percent
increase over 2012.
Haiti’s recent tourism
initiatives include 35 “tourist accommodation” projects, four national
transportation projects, the Marina Blue and Duty Free Americas tourist
projects and 2,180 hotel rooms built or currently under construction. In
addition, 100 drivers and guides dedicated to serving visitors will ultimately
be deployed in areas around the country, officials said.
Tourist developments are
underway in Haitian cities and districts including Ile-à-Vache, Côtes-de-Fer,
Jacmel, Ile de la Tortue, Cap-Haïtien and Côte des Arcadins, said Ministry
officials in a statement.
The projects include
“improvement of existing sites and tourist infrastructure,” the officials said,
and the initiatives will support “various objectives in terms of economic
growth, poverty reduction, social healing and economic and social development
for the benefit of the population.”
The higher arrival figures
come as major airlines expand service to Haiti. JetBlue, which last year
launched its first-ever flight to the country, recently announced new seasonal
flights to Haiti from Boston’s Logan Airport.
The new flights will join
existing daily service between New York’s John F. Kennedy airport and
Port-au-Prince, and twice-daily service between Fort Lauderdale and
Port-au-Prince. The seasonal, nonstop service between Boston and Port-au-Prince
will launch June 17 and operate through Sept. 5 pending government approval.
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