Diaspo-tourism for Haiti?
By Hyppolite Pierre
What if suddenly, the Haitian Government (GOH) decided on a new economic stimulus approach which this time, includes the Diaspora? What if, rather than paying lobbyists to argue their case before Washington and the International Community, the GOH decided for instance, to launch a simple program which they call, Diaspo-Tourism?
They could perhaps try these approaches:
- Have government ministers and officials like consuls, go to Haitian radio stations and television programs like Moment Créole in New York, or stations in Florida, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, etc. Those officials could explain the project in simple terms and create the enthusiasm for it.
- Build rudimentary infrastructure like dirt roads so Diaspo tourists can go to and visit places like Citadelle, Bois Caiman, the 365 doors palace, Saut-d'Eau, etc.
- Help peasants (peyzan) transform their meager home or part of it into Bed and Breakfast; teach them through the Health Ministry about health precautions, etc.
- Make a deal with either American Airlines, or some other airline carrier to transport Haitians (or others interested) to come and visit Haiti at a reasonable rate (i.e. less than the $450 round trip average).
- Make it a package so that one pays a maximum of 1,000 US dollars for one week, with meal, transportation, etc.
The State could get a cut from the Airline carrier. From the price of the ticket could be included all airport and ground transportation fees. The State could preferably decide to use an airline carrier that is trying to get into the Haitian market, since it has a guaranteed number of passengers and does not have to worry about American Airlines' monopoly. Let's hope that by then there still is some 500 dollars left from that 1,000. Could the Bed and Breakfast owner still be guaranteed a good say, $150 (about HT $750) for that week, which would mean that the diaspo-tourist still has 350$US at hand for the entire week to spend, say in Mirebalais (about HT $1,750). Could that be a good idea?
After all, most of us don't know Haiti much, besides our P-au-P, or Cap-Haïtien, or wherever else we come from plus some other cities or towns in the proximity. We would be that way encouraging the local economy in many ways. We would become the new tourists in our own country, eco-tourism or not. We would not be as demanding as the foreign tourist whose expectations are probably much higher than ours. More importantly, we would learn more about our own country and in the process, some of us would even be willing to invest in some province that we visited (small businesses would begin to thrive anyways in those regions).
Let's face it. It is highly unlikely that those loans from the IMF and the World Band and IDB will be disbursed any time soon. Worse, foreign tourism cannot really take off in Haiti for the next few years, in light of the political dead end. Although I would personally like to greet Brooke Burke from E! television channel when she gets off the airplane in Haiti, it is quite unlikely that she will be going down there any time soon. If the Diaspora was able to encourage Aristide's return to power through its steadfast refusal to accept Cédras & Co., can't we again prove it that slowly but surely, we can help revive the Haitian economy?
