Photo courtesy of Sunrise Airways

American travel conglomerate Expedia has announced significant expansion in Haiti this past year as the Caribbean country continues to gain popularity as a travel destination.

According to BreakingTravelNews.com, recent trends point to Haiti as an emerging tourist hot spot.

"Although not traditionally recognised as a popular Caribbean destination, interest in Haiti is on the rise with new hotel and resort openings and developments expected in the near future," said Expedia's Director of Lodging Partner Services for the Caribbean, Demetrius Canton.

Flight arrivals in Haiti are on the rise, and more and more accommodations are popping up. 

Specifically, Expedia revealed that total demand generated to the country via mobile devices last year rose by 800 percent compared to 2013. What's more, the group announced that package bookings to Haiti increased by nearly 500 percent in 2014 compared to the previous year.

"Furthermore, with 40 new hotel partnerships formed in 2014, Expedia's footprint in Haiti is quickly providing our hoteliers with global visibility, strategic marketing tools and the latest technology," added Canton. 

Haiti's tourism minister Stephanie Villedrouin credits Expedia for helping grow the country's promising industry. 

"Expedia Group has been a strong ally for the ministry of tourism of Haiti, particularly in driving demand to our local hotels," said Villedrouin. "Through our close collaboration with Expedia, we look forward to increasing our exposure to markets around the world via marketing campaigns, strategic promotions and the latest technology."

In an effort create partnerships and expand in the rising destination, Expedia assigned a market manager to the country. 

"In the past year, Expedia focused efforts on developing new partnerships in Haiti and have yielded impressive results for local hoteliers through targeted promotions and marketing campaigns," said Expedia's marketing manager for Haiti, Maya de Campos. "We are looking forward to continuing this positive trend through 2015 and beyond."

What makes Haiti's rise so impressive is the fact that the country is only five years removed from a devastating earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people and left 1.6 million homeless. 

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