Haiti, Dominican Republic Juggle Ethics of Tourism after Quake

Jan 20, 10 | 1:56 am

The Dominican Republic is urging tourists not to cancel holiday bookings despite a devastating earthquake in neighbouring Haiti, where people are debating whether it is appropriate for cruise ships to keep making scheduled stops at the country's private beach resorts.

The Dominican Republic's tourism industry is urging vacationers not to cancel bookings to the country, saying tourist dollars are needed now more than ever since a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12 devastated Haiti.

In Haiti itself, there are questions as to whether it was appropriate for a cruise ship to make a scheduled stop three days after the quake at a private beach resort 100 km from the flattened capital, Port-au-Prince, which took the brunt of the disaster.

The two countries occupy one island, with the Dominican Republic making up a larger eastern portion that remained relatively untouched by the strong earthquake and Haiti the remaining western part.

"There was no damage to the natural environment [in Dominican Republic]," said Vanessa Welter, the public relations officer for the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism

"All the infrastructure, hotels - everything is fine. Some people said they felt a little dizzy, but they didn't' realize until after they heard on the news that there was an earthquake that that might have been why they were dizzy."

Dominican holiday hotspot Punta Cana is separated from Port-au-Prince by more than 400 kilometres of mountainous and dense jungle terrain, but tourism dollars spent there and elsewhere in the country could actually help Haiti, Welter said.

"Because in a small way, that does strengthen the country. And actually, because [the Dominican] is a strong country, they're able to help their neighbours," she said.

The Dominican Republic is a top travel destination for Canadians, who in 2008, booked about 500,000 vacations booked to the country, according to Statistics Canada.

Kelowna, B.C., resident Lydia Bohna was among those weighing whether or not to cancel a two-week vacation to the Dominican Republic she'd booked earlier this month.

External source: To read complete article 'Click Here'


Source: CBCnews