ARTICLE - $40 MILLION FOR JACMEL

$40 MILLION FOR JACMEL
(Haiti Libre) -

Tuesday, took place a working meeting between officials from the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Development Agency, "Atout-France", to present the tourism potential of different regions of Haiti. Thursday, after the Council of Ministers, Stephanie Balmir Villedrouin, the Minister of Tourism has provided an update on the visit of the French Agency, and the important decisions taken in the Council of Ministers concerning the development and positioning of the city of Jacmel, as a key destination in Haiti...

"[...] With the delegation from the Tourism Development Agency "Atout France" we had a day of work Tuesday. They went to visit different regions, Jacmel, Côtes Arcadins, Port-au-Prince, the metropolitan area, the observatory ... They are very satisfied and have reassured us, telling us that yes we have a product we can sell tomorrow; but we must structured, and organize it...

We know that when we speak of the country, it is very large, but when we take a specific product, a specific region and we want to give our support, it makes more sense to get results in the short term [...] we have voted [in the Council of Minister Wednesday] a total budget of $40 million for Jacmel. This amount will be invested in tourism infrastructure, so that we develop and position Jacmel, as a key tourist city [...]

There is a first tranche of $20 million that is already unlocked, and I said yesterday in the Council of Ministers, that all projects will be available as of June 14, to find out in what the money will be invested in the very short term. During the session, I also asked when the remaining 20 million will be disbursed. They told me that every month, an account will be supplied for this purpose [...] Now it is necessary that I have a technical, professional assistance which can properly position the accompaniment of the population, to increase awareness [...] so that the city is clean...

$400,000 was also released to make the market of Jacmel outside the city. Thus, we can recover the old market of Jacmel, an old building full of charm, of the 1800s...

We will move the market and also people who are in the streets of Jacmel, to really make the city an important tourist destination. Strategically, the approximation we will do with France, will help us to position Jacmel, and will provide us the technical assistance that we need. It's very positive for tourism in general in Haiti..."