re: 35435

Bernadette - July 10 2011, 8:18 PM

At Gabby, You are dead wrong on this one. Maybe in the 1970's Haiti was not well known.

After the "Boat People" in the 1980's and 1990's, Haiti is well known, unfortunately Haiti is well known negatively throughout the world for its crime against humanity, drug trafficking and emigration issues.

Haiti is especially known after the Quake of last year. Everybody, including the ones from far remote places, if they have cable knows about Haiti.

After the quake.

Perhaps we don't travel in the same circle, but everybody that I now checked foreign countries that they want to visit.

They checked for nearest embassies, hospitals, Taxi cab service hours, reputation of hotels, vaccination requirements, potable water availability, diseases, climate, dangerous areas to avoid, comparative socio-economic level (global),local ethics as not to offend anyone.

In "High Risk countries" as Haiti is part of, vacationers want to know where the kidnappers attack the most and how to avoid them and how to "settle" with them in case you became the victim.

I don't know anyone including grammar school kids (Haitians and non-Haitians alike) who do not know where Haiti is and what it stands for. As a matter of fact the joke in my family is: You know you are Haitian-American when your non-Haitian friends THINK they are more Haitians than you. At a non-Haitian gathering the other day, it was touching to hear one of my friends (very clean-cut-American) professed that once one befriended Haitians, "you can't help but becoming Haitian".

From very far corners of the world, People usually understood when I said that I originally came from Haiti.

Once again, I don't think we have to sell Haiti to anyone as we are living in a post globalism environment;But we need to provide a SAFE place and to pick-up on "special" niche socially conscious marketing.

For instance, in the 1970, the Dominican Repulic "specializes" in quick divorce actions.

In the 2010's, they are selling condos and related services to the "Baby Boomers" who happened to be the same group of people from the 70's. Haiti has got to find a related marketing niche for "quick" cash tourism.

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