WORLD BANK to offer $45m to HAITI for Development of Tourism Industry

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Is this a good sustainable investment for Haiti?
Will this investment build Haiti's infrastructure?
How does tourism benefit Haitians?
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HispanicBusiness.com
May 26th, 2014

The Board of Directors of the Washington-headquartered World Bank has given approval to the proposal of offering $45 million to Haiti in order to support the country in the development of its tourism sector.

The global donor will offer the funding to Haiti via the International Development Association (IDA) and the money is intended at enhancing access, preserving and managing the World Heritage Site of country s National History Park and the historic centre of the Cap-Haitien City.

The grant from the IDA will also be used for establishing new destinations for travelers, said the organization.

The Tourism Minister of Haiti - Stephanie Villedrouin revealed, Developing the North as a tourism destination in a sustainable way is part of the vision of the Ministry of Tourism.

The Minister added, Improving the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage is essential to achieve this objective. I would like to highlight that one of the strengths of the project is that it involves the communities to preserve their heritage and benefit from the economic returns of tourism.

Since past few years, Haiti has been giving more focus on the development of the country s tourism industry, mainly to enhance the infrastructure in and around the National History Park, which was visited by over 30,000 tourists in 2013.

The World Bank has stated that the Labadee port area, which is located close to the park, represents a real potential for further tourism development in the region.

The World Bank s Special Envoy to Haiti - Mary Barton-Dock stated, There is a growing demand to develop tourism in Haiti and the government is working effectively to promote the destination.

The official added, This is the opportunity to develop the tourism industry which is labor intensive and will attract the private sector.

The project, in due course, is intended at luring over 16,000 new tourists in the National History Park and establishing 370 small and medium entities providing cultural services and tourism.

The UNESCO will deliver technical support to the project, which is to be accomplished over a period of six years.

Moreover, in 2013 the Government of Haiti revealed its plans to rebuild the airport in Cap-Haitien. The redecorated airport will be named after the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

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