ARTICLE - HAITI -LEADER IN HOTEL DEV.

HAITI LEADS REGION IN PROJECTED HOTEL DEVELOPMENT
(Defend Haiti) - By Samuel Maxime

MIAMI - Haiti leads the Caribbean and Mexico in hotel development having the most rooms expected to be developed in its near future.

Research done by the staff of Caribbean news magazine, Caribbean Journal found that the region has 131 hotels, 17,923 rooms in the plans and 753 of those rooms are to be built in Haiti; the largest expected growth by a country in the region.

Haiti's expected development is more than twice the amount of other countries expecting significant growth. For example, Caribbean Journal found:

...Anguilla, with 28.8 percent growth, or 220 rooms in the pipeline and Dominica with 13.5 percent growth, or 90 rooms in the pipeline.

St Kitts and Nevis reported 11.7 percent growth, with 235 rooms in the active pipeline.

The Turks and Caicos Islands had expected growth of 10.2 percent, or 327 total rooms.

Contributing to the high forecast of development are delays in construction, political clearance and the earthquake of January 12, 2010.

For example, the Oasis Hotel and Conference Center which began construction in late 2009 remains underdeveloped. There was a work stoppage following the 2010 earthquake and the Vice President of its Board of Directors and trustee, Guiteau Toussaint was murdered in June 2011, forcing a restructuring of the organization causing further delay.

A 250-room hotel to be constructed adjacent to the Toussaint Louverture International Airport is also a project delayed. This hotel was signed and agreed upon in September of 2010 and has an 18-month window to be developed. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the Haitian government and developers of this hotel more than a year later at the Invest in Haiti Forum 2011.

A new development is a 173-room Marriott Hotel that was signed into agreement in November 2011 between Digicel, the Clinton Foundation and Marriott Hotels and Resorts. This hotel is expected to be completed by the summer of 2014.

Michael Capponi, famed entrepreneur and developer from south Florida is developing an entire block of new business and hotels in Jacmel, Haiti as well.

Haitians are hopeful barring any political instability or apocalyptic-level natural disaster, that the country has the potential to make huge gains in a short amount of time. Exactly what the people of Haiti need to become competitors in the region's economy.