Haiti, A Diamond Ready To Be Undusted ― Davidson Toussaint

This article was revised on March 2019.

The Haitian public and the rest of the world might not be aware of it yet, but Tourism in Haiti is taking the greatest height it has never seen before. And Haitians living overseas and some returning professionals are approaching this industry with perceptiveness, confidence, and a convicted mindset.

Haiti Tourism Inc. is bringing —for the first time in Cap-Haitian, Haiti— investors, tourism agencies, global speakers from different tourism and hospitality boards, and others to the premier Tourism Innovation Summit happening in June 2019. With the advent of the internet, Haiti Tourism Inc. is grasping all means necessary to fully “change Haiti’s narrative” for good across the board.

I reached out to the company’s CEO Davidson Toussaint, to chat about Haiti Tourism Inc. and the upcoming Summit.

Haitian Tourism Inc. has been around for a while, but we stopped hearing from you for quite some time. Let’s start by reminding the readers of the company’s objectives.

We would like to thank you for the opportunity to talk to your audience. Haiti Tourism Inc. started as a tour operator. However, at some point, we have positioned ourselves as one of the main tourism organization promoting Haiti around the world, including places like Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands.

As we are growing, we envisage other opportunities in the industry, and we had to take a step back to restructure our team as well as our business approach to better moving forward. The strategy included reducing our presence online, while focusing more on collaborating with more local tourism businesses and organizations on advance sustainable projects to keep pushing tourism and to attract more investors in Haiti, especially in the North.

You are one of the founders of the company, tell me, why the focus was on “Tourism in Haiti”?

I believe as a Haitian, the choice of Haiti came naturally. Nevertheless, as entrepreneurs, we also understood the importance of resolving certain problems in the industry, while we are creating jobs first in the Haitian community (Since we started outside of Haiti) and second in Haiti for young professionals over there. But I will say before anything, we saw something that a lot of people did not see at this time. And we are glad we are able to contribute to the growth of the industry. Moreover, we are committed to stay involved and continue to work strategically with all partners in the tourism ecosystem to transform the industry once and for all.

Give us a snapshot of the upcoming Tourism Innovation Summit.

The Tourism Innovation Summit is the first and one of the largest tourism innovation events in the region. We are receiving 50 global and local speakers, and about 350 tourism professionals to address the more pressing issues in the tourism industry in Haiti and the rest of the region. This is a 15-year initiative that places great emphasis on boosting the region’ economy, notably Haiti through modern tourism approaches.

What inspires the summit? Does your personal and professional experience play a role in this?

The Summit is part of a 25-year plan that has been designed to promote tourism in Haiti. The first phase is the planning phase where we bring Haiti to the world via our “Educating the World about Haiti” Campaign that has taken place in Japan, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and several other countries. The other part of the plan consists of producing key partners together to pull one of the largest tourism events in Haiti and the region for the next 15 years, with the objective of bringing more tourists and investors in the country. My personal and professional experience certainly play a key role in this, but this is not only me. We have 3 others partners that bring their affluent talents and resources.

Have you recently moved or resettled in Haiti? Please tell us of some challenges as a leader and entrepreneur in working in Haiti?

I would rather say I spend more time in Haiti. I share my time between the U.S. and Haiti as I consult often with several businesses on both sides. However, the challenges in Haiti as an entrepreneur are enormous. It is a different business environment; you have to adapt really fast and relearn everything you have learned from Business School (lol) if you choose to do business in this country.

From registering your business to opening a bank account or simply having a few contracts, it’s very demanding. Nevertheless, as I always say, challenges equal opportunities. It is a learning process and I am determined to learn, to collaborate and to keep pushing for new opportunities.

How do you see the concept of tourism branding in Haiti?

I have to admit this is a very expensive process, regardless how many talents we have in the destination branding sector in Haiti. People get confused most of the time about Destination Branding. Because it is not a simple logo, a few colors and posting on social media. It is something that embraces the life of locals, the aspiration of a nation and the direction they want to take as people.

When you see this color or this logo, you don’t simply see a destination, you see the essence of the people living in this specific destination, their culture, and more. I believe the will is there, and we have a few talents that can have part of the job done, but we have yet to take a seat to brainstorm and move in the same direction.

What’s the best advice would you give to young Haitian professionals living in foreign countries?

Buy lands in your home country (LOL)! But I’m serious. People often say money is power, but I recently discovered land is more powerful than money. My second advice will be to give back in the right way. The concept of “aid” is not working in Haiti anymore. If you work in the U.S. or anywhere to take care of yourself or your family, you need to teach people to do the same. I believe it will help them more.

Any encouraging words for those in Haiti as well?

Haiti is not an easy country, but there are plenty of opportunities. The youth is the future of this country either you do business, politics, or you are a professional. I encourage them to learn as much as they can, and work with those who can help them resolve the problems.

Tell us three words/expression that best describe Haiti and its touristic sites.

Haiti is full of surprises, a Diamond ready to be undusted again.