Above: Haiti Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin (second from right) visiting the under-construction Best Western hotel in Petion-Ville (Photo: MT Haiti)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti launches its Tourism Week beginning Sunday as part of a series of activities to mark the World Tourism Organization’s World Tourism Day on Sept. 27, Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism announced.

The week-long event will be held under the theme of “Tourism and Sustainable Energy: Propelling Sustainable Development.”

That is the WTO’s global theme for this year.

“One of the world’s largest economic sectors, tourism is especially well-placed to promote environmental sustainability, green growth and our struggle against climate change through its relationship with energy,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in his World Tourism Day message. “Sustainable energy will allow tourism to continue to expand while mitigating its impact on the environment.”

On this front, Haiti will be focusing this week on its natural heritage sites, like the waterfall at Saut d’Eau, where Haiti Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin will plant shrubs on Thursday.

Haiti’s Tourism Week will launch Sunday in Jacmel, with a large ceremony at the city’s tourist port. The next day, the Minister will visit the beach redevelopment project underway at Gelee Beach. Also on the agenda is a training programme for local taxi operators.

The Ministry’s “tourism caravan” will continue a trip across tourism sites across the country, including Cap Haitien on Wednesday.

The latter visit will include an exhibition looking at the golden age of Haiti’s tourism. Indeed, until the first part of the 1980s, Haiti was a magnet for foreign travelers.

World Tourism Day will be officially marked in Port-au-Prince on Thursday.