Haiti will for the first time host the annual gathering of the UNWTO Commission for the Americas, scheduled for May 19-22, 2015.
Capital Port au Prince will play host and give the country an opportunity to showcase its tourism potential and recent progress in infrastructure and destination projects.
"The Minister of Tourism of Haiti, Stephanie Villedrouin has been paving the way to generate new tourism opportunities to generate jobs and support the country’s economy," said Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO.
"As we transition towards the new Sustainable Development Goals after 2015, this meeting could not have been announced more timely, underscoring the potential of tourism as a natural ally for socio-economic progress."
Haiti has increased tourism revenues substantially with an increase in tourist arrivals of 21% to September 2014, and will hope to seize the growing tourism momentum, especially as all eyes are now firmly fixed towards the tourism potential of Cuba.
According to the Haiti Libre website, a recent study concluded that overnight visitors spent an average $160 per day in Haiti.
Under ex-Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe’s administration, Haiti had paved the way for a number of large-scale tourist developments.
These include an integrated resort area on the island of Ile-a-Vache to feature over 2,000 hotel rooms serviced by its own airport, and an agreement in principle has been signed with Carnival Corp. to build a port facility on Tortuga Island.
