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Haiti Tourism
A new international airport in 1965 and improved
relations
with the United States helped Haiti's tourism industry to
flourish in the 1970s. Tourist arrivals (139,000 by air
and
163,000 by sea) peaked in 1980, and net expenditures on
tourism
(US$44 million) reached their highest level in 1981 before
a
series of events made Haiti unpopular among tourists. One
of
these events was publicity surrounding Haiti as a possible
origin
of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and the high
number
of AIDS cases among Haitians. The former allegation proved
false,
but the portrait lingered, along with television images of
political violence, dire poverty, "boat people," and
general
instability.
For the tourists who ventured to the "land of
mountains,"
Haiti held a number of attractions: exotic culture,
exquisite
French cuisine, distinctive and colorful art and
handicrafts,
castles, hotels, and a resort setting virtually free of
street
crime. Its warm climate, friendly people, and low prices
were
further attractions. In the late 1980s, North Americans,
especially people from the United States, continued to
account
for more than three-quarters of all visitors. Large
numbers of
Haitian emigrés also visited the country after the fall of
JeanClaude Duvalier. The declining number of tourists in
general
forced many hotels to close, however, and the total number
of
rooms registered in the industry dropped from 3,000 in
1981 to
1,500 in 1987. In contrast, the number of hotel rooms in
the
neighboring Dominican Republic quadrupled over the same
time
period. Haiti's tourist industry tended to be an enclave
economic
activity, distinguished by all-inclusive, self-contained
beach
resorts and brief cruise ship dockings in Cap Haïtien or
Port-au-
Prince. Prospects for reviving tourism dimmed in the late
1980s,
when the Haitian government closed its tourist-promotion
office
in New York City.
Data as of December 1989
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