The appearance of Royal Caribbean International’s, Independence of the Seas, arriving at Labadee, Haiti within 72 hours of that country’s devastating earthquake caused a controversy. Should ships carry on as business as usual or should they avoid visiting Haiti out of respect for both the dead and the living who are existing under unimaginable circumstances? The divide in the debate is between not having a good time in a country undergoing a catastrophe and attempting to keep the economy of Haiti, such as it is, going.
Labadee Haiti
Labadee is located on the coast, about 50 miles from Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince that has borne the brunt of the country’s death and destruction. At the present time, Labadee is leased by Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines from the Haitian government. Only cruise line officials, passengers and locals employed by Royal Caribbean are allowed into the area. Labadee is highly secured to help protect ships’ employees and passengers from the political instability that exists in Haiti.
Passengers who visit Labadee have a choice of five beaches to use and there are shops where passengers can purchase local crafts, cognac and coffee. There are different areas where passengers can eat a barbeque lunch and there are several bars in Labadee. Waiters also walk along the beach and take drink orders from visitors who choose to spend their time lounging by the sea. According to Royal Caribbean International’s website, there are numerous water sports and other activities, some especially for children.
Should Cruise Ships Continue to Visit Haiti?
The main argument against continued visits to Labadee is that it is somehow disrespectful to the victims of the earthquake for tourists to go to Haiti to have a good time. Certainly there will be people who would feel uncomfortable sipping cocktails while lounging on a beach so close to the scene of such a great tragedy. Tourists would have to deal with waiters and other locals and would wonder about their friends and family members that are dead or missing. On the other hand there is a strong economic argument in favour of continuing to bring tourists to Haiti.
Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. According to CIA World Factbook, approximately 80 per cent of the country’s inhabitants live below the poverty line. Fifty-four per cent of Haitians live in abject poverty. In addition to Haiti being subject to political instability, the country has been plagued by other natural disasters. In 2008, there were four major tropical storms that severely damaged infrastructure and the agriculture sector that employed almost two thirds of Haiti’s labour force.
As reported by CNN , Haiti’s tourism industry was making advances before the earthquake hit. New hotels were being constructed and the country was building a new airport. Haiti was attempting to catch up to neighbouring countries such as the Dominican Republic that has been building up tourism since the 1970s.
Cruise ship lines, specifically Royal Caribbean, defend their continued visits to the country on economic grounds. Labadee was not damaged by the quake. Passengers who go ashore will not be stepping over any bodies or see any of the destruction. Because of the tight security, passengers will not be able to leave the area to either gawk or hinder the rescue and recovery efforts taking place in other parts of the country. Cruise ships cannot dock at Labadee; passengers are taken to shore on the ships’ tenders. The cruise ships would therefore not be interfering with the docking of ships bringing aid in should it be prudent to for those ships to dock at Labadee. If Labadee was ever needed to take part in the relief effort, the Haitian government would simply tell the cruise lines to leave.
According to Royal Caribbean, the company employs over 200 locals at Labadee. If the ships discontinued these visits, those people would lose their jobs and their families would suffer. And the money that is currently being injected into the Haitian economy by tourists would dry up. The cruise ships have brought some aid to the country and Royal Caribbean has donated $1 million to relief efforts. Food that is brought ashore for the barbeques and not consumed by passengers is left for the Haitians.
The economic arguments for continuing to support Haiti’s economy outweigh the argument that it is in poor taste for people to go there to have a good time. In polls taken by cruisecritic.com, approximately two thirds of respondents think that the cruise ships should continue to arrive in order to help the Haitian economy.
Arthur Weinreb - Weinreb is an author, associate editor and columnist with Canada Free Press and the Canadian Affairs Feature Writer for Suite 101.
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