Even European tourists coming from the Dominican Republic, who used to visit this part of Hispaniola, do not come anymore here. The Northen population remembers the slogan used by our neighbors to attract tourists: "Visit the Dominican Republic and come to see the Citadel"...

Today, on 7 kilometers of road connecting Milot to the Citadel ¾ are paved out of stones up to the parking lot located in Choiseul. From there, the Citadel Laferrière is accessible by foot or by horse in less than forty minutes. Some parts of this road which has just been repaired at the time of the 1st edition of the Rencontres Fondatrices "the Caribbeans in Creations" held last June 22 and 23, are excavated below, which creates a true danger to the users in the event of a collapse.

Thinking seriously of tourism requires concrete actions

Taking seriously tourism in the North of the country would mean: to build the road connecting Cap-Haitien to Milot; to restore the Sans-Souci Palace and the site des Ramiers; to structure the town of Milot and to equip it with suitable infrastructures; to protect the Historical National park and its ecological environment; to give back to the second city of the country its original aspect; to build the road connecting Labadie to Cap-Haitien.

Currently the mini-airport of Cap-Haitien welcomes small planes serving the Bahamas, Turkish and Caicos and Providentiales. The airline companies, Lynx Air and Prestige, connect, 2 to 3 times per week the second city of the country towards Miami for the first one, and Fort Lauderdale for the second one. However in 2007 wouldn't it be more convenient to have a decent international airport, which can handle jet planes?

Undeniably, the North region has many assets for tourist development, but, what missing today is the will, not ideas; the sense of initiative, not human resources; the choice of priorities, not economic assets, in short, the concept of leadership.

Monday August 27, 2007

By Joel Lorquet

It is always a pleasure to visit the "Sans-Souci Palace" in Milot then the Citadel Laferrière, two sites listed "World classified monuments of UNESCO". However, it is sad to notice in

Any concerned individual who traveled abroad will quickly realize that the two above sites are not fully exploited not to say neglected. Certain countries have been willing to attract tourists with merely nothing. Singapore, for example, has been able to create Sentosa Island, which represents today a true touristic attraction, whereas nothing in particular has been noticed on this tiny natural island. It is not even question to mention the tremendous achievements done in the Dominican Republic in terms of tourism.

A lack of infrastructures

No identification panel is noticed on the road leading to the Citadel, and the visitor has to question the driver-guide who, on his own, is only an improvised advisor, due to the fact he did not have any educational background for the task he's doing. It doesn't exist any restaurant or any shops selling gift-souvenirs or other articles able to appeal the visitors. Everything is at an informal stage, whereas an organized parking lot could have been economically profitable for the government. Even the possibility of installing a telpherage connecting Milot to the Citadel for the busiest visitors would have been worthwhile?

The ruins of "Massada", the great palace of king Hérode located on a mountain at the North of Israel is by far comparable to the Citadel Laferrière; however, the authorities of this country made it attractive and profitable by facilitating the access with a telpher rising at 400 meters high. Some restoration works should be pursued inside the Citadel where the roof and surfaces have been deteriorated.

Less and less tourists

During the summer time, it was curious to see, on Thursday, July 26, that only twenty visitors (obviously Haitians coming from the diaspora) visited the Citadel Laferrière, a site which could be easily figured among the world's best classified monuments if one could envision the conditions in which King Henry Christophe built this wonder at that time, compared to the availability of today's technological equipment. Those who visited Sans-Souci and the Citadel Laferrière at the beginning of the Eighties must remember the touristic impact evoked by these sites. One of the guides residing in Milot complains about the current stage of the monuments and sighs: "Since the departure of Duvalier, we have ever seen any tourists coming from the cruise boats because the tours organizers prohibited any access to the city". Indeed, four times a week, for one year and a half, the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, anchor in Labadee, but the visitors are obligated to only enjoy the beautiful sandy beach, because the city of Cap-Haitien is not able to accomodate them.