Haitian ecotourism at its best

Comendador, DominicanRepublic.- The rich flora and fauna, spectacular waterfalls, and mountainouslandscape, are all features of Haiti’s tourism product that were presented atthe 19th edition of the Binational Ecotourism Fair held in Comendador (ElíasPiña Province) a border-zone town in the Dominican Republic from the 7th to the15th of November.

The Caribbean ExportDevelopment Agency (Caribbean Export), within the framework of the 10th EuropeanDevelopment Fund (EDF) Haiti-Dominican Republic Binational Programme, sponsoredthe participation of Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism, and Haitian artisans toshowcase the diversity and talent that the country has to offer. Ecotourism 2015 2

Eight Haitian artisansin different handicraft sectors (metalwork, stonework, beading, textiles, etc.)participated alongside the Ministry of Tourism and under the coordination ofco-organizer FONDTAH – the Foundation for the Haitian Foundation for theDevelopment of Alternative Tourism. FONDTAH’s President, Mr. Jean CamilleBissereth, has been co-organizing the Binational Fair with his Dominicancounterpart for over a decade, and acknowledged the importance of CaribbeanExport’s support in the sector stating “With the help of Caribbean Export, theHaitian handicraft sector has the potential to supply all of the Caribbeanregion with creative and quality craft works that can be inserted in thetourism supply chain.”

The BinationalEcotourism and Production Fair also served as the stage for the launch of theBinational Programme’s visibility component – both National AuthorisingOfficers – Mr. Charles Jean Jacques of Haiti (BONFED) and Mr. Antonio Vargas ofthe Dominican Republic (DIGECOOM) together with European Union Ambassadors,Ambassador Vincent Dégert (EU Delegation in Haiti) and Ambassador Antonio Navarro(EU Delegation in Dominican Republic) voiced the importance of supportingbinational collaboration where culture, commerce and solidarity is exchangedbetween the two island-sharing nations.