Haiti has a wealth of un-spoilt natural landscapes, including 1,700 km of pristine beaches, coral reefs, cave networks and mountains. This, combined with a rich culture and history, makes it a highly desirable destination in the Caribbean.
Tourism arrivals in Haiti have been steadily increasing since 2010. In 2016, 1.24 million tourists visited Haiti. Over 800,000 cruise ship tourists visited Haiti in 2016 compared to 673,000 in 2015. This steady increase is due to Haiti’s strategic location only 90 minutes from Miami; the country is also accessible by daily direct flights from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, New York, Atlanta, Montreal, Paris, Panama City, Santo Domingo, Pointe à Pitre, St Martin, La Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Kingston, and Providenciales.
Haiti Tourist, number of arrivals (in thousand)
Governmental commitment to infrastructure development
The Ministry of Tourism has identified a number of priorities for private investment and public-private partnerships in tourist destinations.Opportunities exist in various regions of the country, and include:
- Construction of a boutique beachfront hotel and larger conference hotel (150 rooms) in Jacmel.
- Construction and operation of a marina, golf course and airport on Île-à-Vache, a 3.2 km-wide and 15 km-long island with more than 20 beaches, mangrove forests and interior mountains.
Committed and competitive workforce
- Haiti has an abundant labor market with highly competitive costs.
- This includes a large pool of English, French and Spanish speakers.
- Ready and keen to learn new skills.
- Professional training is provided by the national École Hôtelière d’Haïti (Haiti Hotel School) and the Institut National de Formation en Hôtelière et Touristique (National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute).
Investor-friendly climate
- Haiti has an abundant labor market with highly competitive costs.
- This includes a large pool of English, French and Spanish speakers.
- Ready and keen to learn new skills.
- Professional training is provided by the national École Hôtelière d’Haïti (Hotel School) and the Institut National de Formation en Hôtelière et Touristique (National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute).
Haitian artisansHaiti has a rich cultural heritage and is known worldwide for its artistic creativity, innovative designs and high-quality artisan crafts. The use of color and subject matter explored in Haitian tapestries have been lauded for over seven decades; the same imagination, color and technical quality are found in wood sculptures, furniture, home decoration articles in metal, wood and straw, metal wall hangings, papier-mâché masks and animals, and quilts.
Who is investing in the tourism sector in Haiti?Operating in Haiti since 2002, Port Morgan, S.A., are a tropical resort in southern Haiti’s Île-à-Vache. The hotel has 23 rooms afteran investment of nearly US$ 2.8 million in a joint venture that is 35 percent Haitian-owned. The company has created 440 directand indirect jobs, and also supports small local organizations on Île-à-Vache with reforestation projects.
Construction of new hotels and expansion of existing hotels is progressing at a brisk pace.