Above: Haiti Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin (centre) on her southern tour in Morisseau this weekend (Photo: MT Haiti)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin began what the Ministry dubbed a major tour of the country’s southern region this weekend, as part of a wider plan to increase tourism in Haiti’s outer regions.

Villedrouin’s tour began with visits to the public beaches of Morisseau and Gelée in the region of Cotes de Fer.

The visit came after the Minister made a presentation earlier this month on Haiti’s plan to develop the southern region, which will be helped by an agreement signed earlier this summer with Mexico’s FONATUR national tourism trust.

Villedrouin took time to oversee work currently underway on the Gelee Beach, one of Haiti’s signature beaches — and one of its longest.

This weekend the Minister also held talks with the association managing the public beach in Morisseau, which is considering a redevelopment project of its own, with the hope of ultimately attracting members of the Haitian diaspora from abroad for carnivals and other celebrations.

Haiti has been prioritizing several redevelopments of tourist sites in the country, including Saut-d’Eau, home to the Le Saut waterfall; the Boutillier observatory and the Saint-Pierre church in Petion-Ville, among others.