Before quake, signs of hope for Haiti tourism

Cruise stop

Most tourists who have been to Haiti have likely been to the peninsula of Labadee — about 100 miles from Port-au-Prince — deposited there for a day of activities by a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

The company has spent $50 million developing the area, making it Haiti’s biggest foreign direct investor, said Adam Goldstein, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, in an interview with NPR.

But critics say Labadee has little to do with local culture. Some people may not even be aware they are in Haiti when they visit what the cruise line touts as “Royal Caribbean’s private paradise.”

Frommer, who spent a day on Labadee during her cruise, said Royal Caribbean staffers were “very, very, very careful” not to refer to it as Haiti, though the company’s Web site includes the country name in its list of ports of call.

(Royal Caribbean has continued to bring vacationers to Labadee since the earthquake. Blog: Would you be comfortable on a cruise to Haiti? )

Frommer marveled at the intense natural beauty of the place, including lush jungles and beautiful white sand beaches, but she was also quick to notice the heavy security.

“I happened to take the zip line ride, which takes you outside of the compound, and you realize that the entire area of this private part of Haiti is surrounded by barbed wire. It’s like a fortress,” Frommer said.

There were no excursions offered beyond the secured area, she said.

‘Random crime’

The precautions may not be surprising given the longstanding tension in the region.

Before the earthquake, the U.S. State Department’s travel warning for Haiti urged U.S. citizens to exercise a high degree of caution when visiting the country.

“While the overall security situation has improved, political tensions remain, and the potential for politically-motivated violence persists,” the department’s pre-earthquake warning said.

“The absence of an effective police force in many areas of Haiti means that, when protests take place, there is potential for looting, the erection of intermittent roadblocks by armed protestors or by the police, and the possibility of random crime, including kidnapping, carjacking, home invasion, armed robbery and assault.”

What’s next?

In the wake of the massive earthquake, there are fears any progress made recently by the country’s tourism industry could be erased.

“I hate to say that it will be a setback, but I can’t imagine it not being,” Frommer said.

But there also was hope that since the quake was localized in Port-au-Prince, other parts of the country could stay on the path of progress.

“All the development projects… the tourism, the airport that needs to be built in the northern part of Haiti — everything else should stay on schedule,” Clinton wrote in Time magazine last week.

Reid was optimistic that people flocking to Haiti from all over the world to help after the disaster would be moved by its plight and recognize its beauty.

“People want to go as responsible travelers and go into a place where their money might be able to make a difference,” Reid said.