Tourism in Haiti - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Tourism in Haiti

Fifties & Sixties Style

w

ith David BargeSlide2

The Duality of Haiti Tourism (50s)

Advertisements for Haitian tourism often contrasted native symbols and “traditional” touristic images with foreign intellectualism and architecture

Because Port-Au-Prince did not have a beach scene, tourism relied on historical landmarks from French colonialism, and a burgeoning hotel industry

“

Trianon

”, the name of the hotel in “The Comedians” means “a

small elegant villa; 

especially

:

  one in the grounds of a larger

establishment” according to Merriam-Webster. It originated from one of the villas in the royal park at

Verseilles

, France (Merriam-Webster) Slide3
Slide4

Graham Greene’s Visit

Like the “Lost Generation” of artists who flocked to Paris in the 1920s, artists such as Graham Greene were frequent tourists of Haiti

This helped enhance Haiti’s intellectual appeal, and was written about in the Haiti Sun.

From the December 2, 1956 Haiti Sun: “Mr. Greene who has been acclaimed by many of his contemporaries in England as the finest of his generation enjoys this country for a number of good reasons. His latest reason was the discovery of the ten cent taxi. Like a typical Englishman of today, suffering from a shortage of dollars this was a very important discovery” (“Graham Greene at El Rancho”, 3)Slide5

“The Comedians”

Greene provides a description of pre-Duvalier hotel tourism with Hotel

Trianon

, based on the Hotel

Olaffson

where he stayed often

“A

centre

of Haitian intellectual life. A luxury-hotel which caters equally for the connoisseur of good food and the lover of local customs. Try the special drinks made from the finest Haitian rum, bathe in the luxurious swimming-pool, listen to the music of the Haitian drum and watch the Haitian dancers. Mingle with the elite of

Haaitian

intellectual life, the musicians, the poets, the painters who find at the Hotel

Trianon

a social

centre

…” (Greene 48-9)

Again shows the duality of Haitian tourism in the fifties; local culture mixed with intellectualism and extravaganceSlide6

Changing of the Guards: Papa Doc

Francois Duvalier came into power by garnering support with the large lower-class black population, ran on black nationalism and populism

Overthrew the “Elite-Mulatto” ruling class, and kept power by growing the black middle-class while murdering and/or arresting political and economic opposition and seizing assets

Tourist industry had been run by this “Elite-Mulatto” upper class, so the industry suffered as a result

The atrocities committed under Duvalier’s reign unsurprisingly hurt Haiti’s image and discouraged tourists from visiting Slide7

Reverse-Tourism

Advertising from companies like Pan-Am catered to wealthy people trying to

leave

Haiti, like the protagonist of “The Comedians”

From the February 16, 1958 edition of the Haiti SunSlide8

American Reaction

Although America lost a tourist destination, Duvalier was firmly anti-Communist, which kept the US government happy given the situation with Russia and Cuba

Still, capitalistic thinking dictated criticism of lost tourist revenues and “unfilled potential”

“Before

the rise of President Duvalier's tightly controlled regime in 1957, Port-au-Prince was a major tourist port of call in the Caribbean. Today its handful of first-class hotels are almost all pathetically

empty” (“Papa Doc’s Haiti – A Lost Paradise,” Clark)Slide9

“Rugged” Tourism

“

Haiti is for a hardier breed of

tourist… it

is characteristic of Haiti, the land of unrealized opportunities, that its scenic wonders are only to be reached by a system (if it may be called that) of washed-out, pot-holed roads that even Jeeps and powerful buses can scarcely

traverse”

(“Papa Doc’s Haiti – A Lost Paradise,” Clark)

Tourism infrastructure was not invested in by Duvalier’s regime, making it hard to get to Haitian wonders such as the

Citadelle

(the same one from “Henry & Henrietta”)Slide10

Conclusion

Haitian tourism in the 1950s combined traditional Haitian symbols and tropes with European extravagance and influence, also shown with Parisian architecture and cooking

Election of Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier caused a sharp decline in tourism during the 1960s, as the ruling class that operated tourist businesses was thrown out or fled the country

Duvalier’s brutal regime garnered a reputation that discouraged tourists from visiting. Furthermore, the regime did not invest in necessary tourism infrastructure like good roads

Graham Greene’s “The Comedians” provides us with a viewpoint of the tourism industry as it was before and during Duvalier’s reignSlide11

Works Cited

Clark, George P. "Papa Doc's Haiti -- A Paradise Lost." Editorial. Courier Journal 3 Nov. 1968: n.

pag

. John-Martens. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.

Dunnigan

, Regis, ed. "Visit Haiti." 

Travel in the Americas

 (1956): 1+.

Print."Graham Greene at El Rancho." Haiti Sun [Port-au-Prince] 2 Dec. 1956: 1+.

DLOC

. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.

Greene

, Graham. 

The Comedians: Graham

Greene.

 London:

Bodley

Head

, 1966. Print

.

"Miami - Pan American." 

Haiti

Sun

 [Port-au-Prince] 16

Feb

. 1958: 3.

Print

.

Shefflin

, Fred F. The Guide: All Florida & the Caribbean 6.2 (1955-6): 2. DLOC. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.