Haiti officials said the recent travel advice by the Obama administration to Americans against visiting Haiti could badly affect the country's tourism industry which is trying hard to get back on its feet.
Haiti being an earthquake-prone country has its tourism industry trying everything it can to get back on track. However, according to a recent travel advisory by the Obama administration to Americans against visiting the Caribbean country is not helping the cause.
According to the advisory, Haiti is not safe for Americans. The advisory claimed, "U.S. citizens have been victims of violent crime, including murder and kidnapping, predominantly in the Port-au-Prince area. No one is safe from kidnapping, regardless of occupation, nationality, race, gender or age."
However, Haiti officials claim that this is not true and that Haiti is the safest Caribbean country for Americans.
"Haiti is one of the safest destinations, not only in the Caribbean, but in all of Latin America," Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said in a press conference, sided by several other cabinet members.
Haitian officials also feel that the advisory is not fair as now the rate of crime in the country, especially murder and kidnapping, has decreased drastically over the year.
According to a report by Reuters, July was the most violent month in 2012 for Haiti with the country reporting 136 murders. October 2012 saw the highest number of kidnapping with a total of 21 cases being reported. This number fell to 9 in the month of December last year.
The country has been trying hard to build back its tourism industry after the 2010 earthquake. It has been trying everything to lure tourist back into the country and officials fee that they have now been "unfairly singled out by the Obama administration." "With the meager resources that the state has, we're investing in tourism," he said. "Other countries have problems, too."
Canada's ambassador to Haiti, Henri-Paul Normandin, however, rubbished rumors that his embassy had also delivered similar warning to travelers as well.
