Re-building Haiti: Investing in tourism

Resurrecting tourism in a country best known for poverty, political instability and a devastating earthquake might seem an overly optimistic ambition.

But bringing back Haiti’s once-thriving tourism sector is one of the cornerstones of the Caribbean nation’s economic renewal strategies, the country’s new minister of tourism told a Montreal conference last week.

By investing in airports, security and smaller resort hotels that focus on its cultural heritage as well as its beaches, Haiti is hoping to lure some of the 22 million travellers who visit the Caribbean each year, as well as some of the 21 million who visit on cruise ships.

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