A Haitian tourism official has expressed optimism about his island’s tourism sector in the after math of the 2010 earthquake which caused severe devastation to the island.
Director General of Tourism in Haiti, Daniel Fouchard, told an interview with the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Communications Specialist Johnson JohnRose at the International Tourismus Borse (ITB) in Berlin last week, that the tourism sector is still “very active”.
He graded himself as 8/9 on a scale of 1 to 10 in being optimistic about the growth and development of the sector although the island’s preoccupation is focused on rebuilding.
“After the earthquake every Haitian thinks about reconstruction; rebuilding the country, giving the faith to the huge population, creating new schools, new opportunities for the youth of the country and giving the people the necessary hope to go further”.
He explained further that several steps within the island’s tourism master plan are underway including the construction of two airports and new investments.
“We are building two new airports in the country; one in Capiche and one in La Cai and then we have already signed a few contracts with other big companies who are investing in the hotel industry; Best Western, Marriott, Occidental”.
Fouchard noted that although the tourism sector is very active he must wait until his minister has full powers so that the sector can operate more effectively, as the resignation of the former Haitian prime minister Garry Conille after four months into office has disrupted the government.
He is also hopeful that Caribbean leaders particularly those in the Antillean; Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico among others will find a solution to issue of island hopping.
According to Fouchard; these islands present a “mosaic of culture” which many people are interested in therefore the onus is upon them to find a way for easier travel within to and from these islands.
“We are at a distance of 1 hour/2 hours from each other and every time we have to see one another we have to go up north or down south to go back to the Caribbean, we have to change that. I understand that there are a lot of countries now who are trying to do their best”.
“We are young countries and trying to do the best to promote our countries” he said, recognizing the fact that the success of these islands sector is dependent on several factors some which they are unable to control as with the occurrences of natural disasters.
ITB is a five day trade show which “enlightens visitors and qualified buyers about global travel, tourism and hospitality sectors and highlights the exotic destinations of more than 180 countries including Dominica under one roof in a friendly environment.
The ITB trade show welcome more than 11163 exhibitors from various countries to exhibit their newest tour locations, hotel services, resort facilities and many more to render the perfect holiday and travel experience to all the interested visitors.
The ideal business to business platform provides an ideal opportunity for the exhibitors to generate sales and meet with their industry peers and qualified buyers among 170000 visitors.
Some of the highlights of the event are convention programs, business presentations and conference and workshops.
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