entrepreneurship in tourism as a driver for recovery and sustainable development of the countryside...
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Dr Hugues SERAPHIN
Lecturer in Event Management and Marketing(The University of Winchester)
Associate researcher CREDDI-LEAD 2438 Guyane
PhD PGCE MA
Active Countryside Tourism
23-25. 01.2013, Leeds, United KingdomLeeds Metropolitan University,
ICRETH
Session 5: ‘Stakeholders and tourism development’ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
TOURISM AS A DRIVER FOR RECOVERY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRYSIDE IN HAITI.THE GUEST HOUSES AS A STRONG POTENTIAL OPTION
HAITI
Fragile state:Lack of political will/capacity to provide: Basic functions needed for poverty reduction and development Safeguard human rights of the populationPublic services
Haiti was once the richest French colony. Haiti was even called the ‘Pearl of the Antilles’ (Séraphin, 2011)
Vulnerable state:Public policiesEconomy Shaped by external forces
(Moita, Gautier, 2010)
ENVIRONMENTAL OVERVIEW OF HAITI
CONTENTS1 – Introduction
2 – Purpose of the study
3 – Literature review
4 – Opportunities available for locals to set up their own business
5 – Potential and limits of rural tourism and guest houses in Haiti
6 – Conclusion and recommendations
1INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Haiti used to be the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean between 1940e – 1960e
(Séraphin, 2011)
Nowadays, Haiti is mainly known as one of the poorest and dangerous country on earth. It is also now a country with a very low ‘touristicity’
(Theodat, 2004)
The Port-au-Prince Declaration (2011) put forward the creation of small and micro enterprises (SMEs) as one of the seven key pillars for growth in the tourism industry in Haiti
Rural tourism can be an opening for developing countries (Grandoit, 2005)
‘Tourists want more than bed-and-breakfast. They want something you can’t pay for – getting to know people...I am offering myself and my home’
(Stringer,1981)
2PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
(a) Recognising the potentials of tourism, entrepreneurship and rural tourism in Haiti
(b) Increase the number of locals involved in rural tourism
3LITERATURE REVIEW
Entrepreneurship plays an important role in economic growth, innovation and in poverty alleviation
(Landes, 1998)
Michel (2000) claims tourism can fully benefit a destination, only if the locals are fully involved in the planning and developmentof the industry. According to Manyara and Jones (2005), micro and small scale enterprises can increase the participation of the poor in the tourism industry
Entrepreneurship in (rural) tourism seems to be a possible option for Haiti in its attempt to develop its tourism industry, reduce the high rate of unemployment and improve the standard of living of the locals.
4OPPORTUNITIES
The Digicel Entrepreneur of the Year programme
Build new economic foundations for HaitiRewarding and cultivating the new business leaders of Haiti
To be short-listed, the projects must:Show a clear strategic directionBe innovativeHave a positive impact on the local community
MEMA (Mon Entreprise Mon Avenir) project
Funded by the Clinton Bush Haiti FundTurn Haitians’ ventures into profitable businesses
To be short-listed, the projects must be:SustainableInnovativeinclusive
http://memahaiti.org/qparticiper.php
MEMA / DIGICEL
Both projects are supposed to be inclusive
HOWEVERApplication requires a ‘Business plan’
50% of the population in Haiti is illiterate65% of the population in Haiti lives below the threshold of poverty(Roc, 2008)
In South Africa, Kristen and Rogerson (2002), noticed a limited involvement of the locals in entrepreneurship programmes because of the limited education of most of the locals
There is no financial product (Micro Finance Institutions) orientated towards micro and small-scale enterprises in Haiti. The MFI deliver credit to micro and small enterprises and contributes to poverty reduction by providing poor people access to financial services (Van
der Sterren, 2008). Limited personal and family savings and an absence of financial innovation severely limit the growth prospects of promising start-ups in developing countries (Lingelbach, 2005)
5POTENTIAL AND LIMITS OF RURAL TOURISM / GUEST HOUSES
Research methodology and design
In terms of method we are going to use a qualitative approach. The Association of the Peasants of Vallue (APV)will be sued as a case study. We are starting with the assumption that this hospitality service offered by this CBT has a rather positive impact overall on the area of Vallue.
Also, in order to identify the challenge of running guest houses in Haiti, we are going to analyse the feedback of visitors who went to Haiti and stayed in guest houses. Our source of information is the well established website TripAdvisor. Eleven (11) name of accommodation have the terminology ‘guest house’ in their name. We only considered those one to make sure that no other type of accommodation were falsely taken into account. Each guest house has been graded from 1 to 4 (1: excellent / 2: Very good / 3: Average / 4: Poor / 5: Terrible) using the feedback of the visitors. The results of the study will also enable us to identify the key issues with the guest houses in Haiti.
Consuming organic food
Haitian dishes, using particularly natural food of the area in partnership with local farmers as providers
Modernisation of agriculture and other rural activities
Demand for goods and services increase
Food, drink and necessary products will be produced by the local farmers and purchase by the tourists
All modern facilities are also available for seminary, conference, honeymoonwe offer you excursion, picnic on the mountain with troubadour, ethno-botanic guidance, good music, movie, dance, traditional society gamesHaitian dishes, using particularly natural food of the area in partnership with local farmers as providers
Create employment (especially for the rural youth)
Income level will rise Generate foreign exchange Local and small business will be
benefited
•Positive economic impacts:
APV
sharing with the farmers their culture and acknowledges
Cultural understanding Exchange of cultural beneficial
for both locals and tourists
we offer you excursion, picnic on the mountain with troubadour, ethno-botanic guidance, good music, movie, dance, traditional society gamesHaitian dishes, using particularly natural food of the area in partnership with local farmers as providers
Increase in participation in rural tradition and cultural practices
Traditional products will become even more popular
•Positive socio-cultural impacts:
APV
Hotel Villa Ban-Yen is the ideal place
on the mountain to breathe fresh and
pure air
Help in create and maintain the natural park
Learn the importance of preservation of natural resources
Learn to preserve the natural habitats, bio-diversity and historical monuments
•Positive environmental impacts:
APV
Only 54% of the guest houses in Haiti on TripAdvisor have been reviewed (and graded). Out of those 54%, some the guest houses have been graded as good (3) or excellent (2).
Even if we know that those results are only descriptive (and not representative) of the situation they enable us to come to the conclusion that guest houses in Haiti are rather good compared the hotels Ian Thomson (2004) stayed in. In fact, 6 of the 8 hotels he stayed in were graded as being ‘terrible’ (Séraphin, 2012b).
Our study has some severe limitations has it relies on an extremely limited sample. The limitations of this research suggest the need for further studies.
TRIPADVISOR
Financial sector modernisation in some developing countries has been pushed in recent years through so-called Microfinance Institutions (MFIs).They deliver credit to micro and small enterprises and contributes to poverty reduction by providing poor people access to financial services (Van der Sterren, 2008).
A well functioning financial sector contributes positively to the level of economic growth and have pro-poor effects only when poor have access to credit and savings services provided by banks (Beck et al., 2004).
The fact that in Haiti poor people are not considered as clients in a way limit the potential positive impact of the various initiatives. Entrepreneurs in emerging markets rely heavily on informal sources of finance to start their business (Bygrave, 2003). Limited personal and family savings and an absence of financial innovation severely limit the growth prospects of promising start-ups in developing countries (Lingelbach, 2005).
Tourism is a service industry and benefits strongly from liberalised and open economies (Van der Sterren, 2008).
6CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Because guest houses involve a low cost investment due to the fact they are converted home, they appear as an ideal solution for poor people to step in the tourism industry
The guest house option has also the advantage of tying each Haitian family to the tourism sector and to the broader economy. Thus ensuring that the population recognizes how important tourism can be to the country’s economic development (Edmunds, 2012)
Haiti has a master card to play, namely its authenticity. It is one of the latest untouched territories of the Caribbean. Moreover, the tourists by staying in guest houses are guaranteed to get ‘authenticity’ as opposed to staged performance described by Thomson (2004) in resorts where everyone plays a role.
The key issue of Haiti’s development (therefore for its tourism industry) relies on the fact that Haiti has been lead so far by ‘professional politicians’ and not ‘Presidents’ with a genuine interest for the development of the country (Barreau, 2013). Leadership is therefore the key issue of the country.
Dr Hugues SERAPHIN
Lecturer in Event Management and Marketing(The University of Winchester)
Associate researcher CREDDI-LEAD 2438 Guyane
PhD PGCE MA
Active Countryside Tourism
23-25. 01.2013, Leeds, United KingdomLeeds Metropolitan University,
ICRETH
Session 5: ‘Stakeholders and tourism development’
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN TOURISM AS A DRIVER FOR RECOVERY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRYSIDE IN HAITI.THE GUEST HOUSES AS A STRONG POTENTIAL OPTION
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
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