Less than a year after having met in Madrid (January 2012), Ms. Stéphanie Balmir Villedrouin, the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), is visiting Haiti for the first time from October 27 to 30, along with the Regional Director for the Americas Programme of the UNWTO, Carlos Vogeler.

This visit is even more relevant, considering that it is the first Secretary General of the UNWTO who is visiting the country in the last 14 years, since the latest one happened in 1998 by the former responsible Francesco Frangialli.

One of the main objectives of Rifai's visit to Haiti is the adhesion of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Michel Joseph Martelly to the 'Open Letter' to promote tourism, an awareness campaign sponsored by UNWTO and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC global forum of business travel and tourism sector in the world). Nearly 40 countries have already joined the campaign.

In the framework of the visit, the UNWTO and the Ministry of Tourism of Haiti will also be signed a Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening tourism cooperation between the two institutions in order to improve the image of Haiti as a tourist destination.

The Secretary General and the Regional Director for the Americas Programme of the UNWTO will also participate in a conference organized by the Tourism Association of Haiti entitled Haiti, on the world tourism map.

Moreover, Rifai will meet with the Prime Minister of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe, and the Ministers of Culture, Education, Environment, Finance and Foreign Affairs.

The Secretary General of the UNWTO will have the opportunity to see the country and visit landmarks such as the Palace Sans-Souci in the North and the Museum MUPANAH in Port-au-Prince.

Learn more about the UNWTO

The World Tourism Organization is a United Nations specialized agency, is the leading international organization with the decisive and central role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Haiti has been a member of the UNWTO since 1975, one year after its creation.

HL/ HaitiLibre