Above: the delegation’s arrival in TCI last week (Photo: MT Haiti)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Haiti’s government sent a tourism mission to the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Officials from Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism met with their counterparts in the British Overseas Territory, including Education and Culture Minister Akierra Misick and Stacy Cox, association executive of the Turks and Caicos Islands Hotel and Tourism Association.
Haiti’s delegation included Dieudonne Luma Etienne, director of tourism for the North region, tourism officials Pascale Hillaire and Stephanie Alexandre and Consul Margarette Lemaire, among others.
The purpose of the visit was reportedly to consider areas of cooperation between the two sides, including offering packages to allow tourists from each country to visit the other.
The visit comes after Turks and Caicos Prime Minister Dr Rufus Ewing and Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe agreed in March to “work jointly to boost the tourism sector” in their respective countries.
It also comes a few months after high-profile bilateral talks between Turks and Caicos and Haiti in Port-au-Prince.
Former Turks and Caicos Governor Ric Todd said those talks were aimed at improving relations with Haiti, which have been strained in recent years due to increased illegal migration from Haiti.