Last year Budget Travel described Haiti as a travel destination that “has it all” – crime, cholera, damaged infrastructure, and limited police and medical resources – and was designated as a “don’t go” in the travel website’s yearly To Go or Not to Go list.
That was three years after a magnitude-7 earthquake demolished much of the already-impoverished nation killing more than 300,000 people.
Fast forward one year and the Huffington Post, along with Budget Travel, are citing Haiti as a must-see spot in 2014.
This comes as good news for two Irishmen who have recently set up a new travel company with a difference called Destination Haiti.
Myles McPartland who worked with Digicel in Haiti for two and a half years and humanitarian aid worker Hugh Brennan, with 4 years’ experience in Haiti, are on a mission to persuade Irish people to consider the Caribbean island as a holiday destination – where they believe your ‘holiday spend’ will make a real difference.
Why did you set up a travel company in a renowned ‘trouble spot’?
It’s not charity, it’s economics. A mere twenty Irish people visiting Haiti per month will generate a half a million US dollars for the Haitian economy in just one year.
Haiti (Ayiti in Creole) occupies one third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares withthe Dominican Republic. Haiti is slightly larger than Munster with a population of almost 10 million people. Last year 6,500 Irish people visited the Dominican Republic – if 10% of this number could be persuaded to visit Haiti, instead, that would generate $1.3 million (€940,000) for the Haitian economy.
On 18 January 2010, six days after the devastating earthquake in Port Au Prince, as we carried out our initial assessments in the burgeoning, dusty camps of the capital city, a woman approached us, tall and proud with piercing green eyes and simply said, “Haiti is broken.”
From that state of almost terminal weakness, that ‘broken Haiti’ has managed to find strength and she is now on the mend.
The country overall seems to be in the midst of a comeback. How has that manifested in terms of tourism?
The island nation's recent foray into international tourism has resulted in a new flight service to Port-au-Prince from New York City and Fort Lauderdale via JetBlue. Several major international hotel chains have also returned to Haiti – the Best Western Premier Petion-Ville opened in December 2013, and the Royal Oasis, owned by Occidental Hotel & Resorts, is also a new addition. Marriott International has also started construction in the Port-au-Prince area and is expected to open a new hotel in 2015.
What role has investment in Haiti played in the country’s recovery?
After the earthquake, all of the supports which were offered, accepted and used by Haiti to assist in the recovery process fit neatly into the two categories of ‘Aid’ and ‘Investment’ – and as ever the most effective of these two is investment.
The cry from every Haitian man and woman was and is ‘we need jobs’.
The ‘needs assessments’ carried out by the UN and the Red Cross and every large aid organisation showed that the greatest need was and is for jobs, jobs, jobs.
As in any country in the world, investment and job creation will enable the Haitians to feed, educate, house and generally to look after themselves. In Haiti’s case, investment in the tourist industry offers the best chance of providing employment and hence rapid recovery. And this is exactly what our Irish travel company “Destination Haiti” is hoping to do.
So what does Destination Haiti offer Irish tourists that is different?
We offer fully escorted tours to Haiti. The touring parties will depart from Dublin and will arrive in Port Au Prince, having an overnight stay through JFK in New York. They will be transported by private mini coach to a good quality 3* hotel in Petionville/Port Au Prince or be brought directly to a mountain retreat for walking holidays.
The groups will be small, no more than twenty per trip and the itineraries will be tailored to the tourists’ wishes. Whether it’s adventure or culture, sunbathing or snorkelling, hiking or dining, history or botany Haiti really does have it all and more.
Can people still expect the idyllic Caribbean scene – an azure blue sky; white sandy beaches; exotic wildlife – as a part of the Haitian experience?
That is Haiti – the world’s first & oldest black republic, whose slaves defeated Napoleon’s army to gain independence in 1804; a valiant people who were shunned by the ‘established’ nations of the world for over 100 years, who were then plundered by dictators, who have suffered under brutal regimes, who were buried under tonnes of rubble, who were battered by hurricanes and ravaged by cholera but who will not stay down.
Haiti is rising from the ashes, like the Phoenix, and is now on the cusp of momentous change that will see it develop into one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world within one generation. So now is the time to visit Haiti for a fully escorted trip of a lifetime; now is the time to experience the unspoilt, mystical, exotic Haiti and to be a part of the country’s renaissance.
More information:
Tour prices start from approximately €1,950 for a seven day walking holiday to €2,750 for a 15-day tour of Haiti. Prices include, flights, full board and accommodation and all transport while in Haiti.
Departure dates for 2014 (subject to demand) are as follows: 31 May, 21 June, 19 July, 20 Sept, 18 Oct and 15 Nov.
Contact: www.destinationhaiti.ie
