Talking Travel: Tourism and Haiti’s recovery

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Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Photo: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)

Given the scale of destruction left behind by the earthquake in Haiti, it might be hard to imagine a time when tourist travel to the Caribbean nation might be possible again. But in our Talking Travel podcast this week, Lonely Planet’s Paul Clammer and Robert Reid discuss how tourism might fit in to any future plan for Haiti’s recovery. Paul, who writes Lonely Planet’s Haiti guide, says the cruel irony is that, in many ways, Haiti was on the brink of becoming a truly up-and-coming tourist destination for tourists before the earthquake hit. He and Robert also assess Royal Caribbean’s decision to continue to dock their cruise ships in the northern Haitian port of Labadie in the aftermath of the disaster. They end with a look at the Haitian people and their resilience, and whether the earthquake has changed outside perceptions of Haitians and their nation.

Here are some helpful links from this episode:

• Lonely Planet: Haiti
• Paul Clammer’s Haiti update
• The Guardian newspaper: Cruise company boss says tourists helping Haiti quake relief effort
• CNN: Before quake, signs of hope for Haiti tourism
• New York Times: 2007 article on tourism in Haiti
• Helping in Haiti: Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree travel forum
• Citadelle Laferrière: World Heritage Site
• New Orleans: Habitat for Humanity

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