Haiti's Tourism Future: One on One With Ellen Wouters

Photo courtesy of the Marriott Port au Prince

As 2017 begins, Haitian tourism officials will seek to re-ignite the tourist arrivals surge was absent in 2016 after the country posted strong visitor growth each year between 2013 and 2015. After welcoming 1,189,269 visitor arrivals in 2015, 5.2 percent increase over 2014, arrivals declined significantly in 2016 according to Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) data.

Hurricane Matthew’s passage in October killed an estimated 1,600 residents, took a significant toll on the country’s scant resources and has been cited as among the factors in the nation’s 2016 arrivals slide.

Nevertheless, Haiti’s virtual rebirth as a Caribbean tourism destination is expected to continue in 2017 as the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Industries (MTIC) continues its aggressive tourism development initiatives.

In many ways, the 175-room Marriott Port au Prince symbolizes the country’s recent tourism turnaround. Launching in 2015 through a partnership among Marriott International, Digicel Group and The Clinton Foundation, the property gave Haiti’s capital a state-of the-art hotel from a familiar to North American travelers.

In fact, while designed a business hotel, the property features elements leisure guests will find appealing from a full-service restaurant to complimentary Wi-Fi and a concierge desk. The hotel employs a primarily Haitian staff and purchases goods and services from local businesses while also offering close proximity to tourist attractions including Bassin Bleu and the Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien.

We spoke with Ellen Wouters, the Marriott Port au Prince general manager, about the property’s continuing role in Haiti’s ongoing tourism renaissance.

TravelPulse: How did the Marriott Port au Prince fare this year in terms of occupancy and revenue per available room compared with 2015? 

Ellen Wouters: We are seeing a steady growth as we build customer base and our reputation in Haiti grows.

TP: What has been the most significant challenge in operating this property? 

EW: The unstable conditions in the country, both in terms of political and natural disasters like Hurricane Matthew. For the property itself we would have to say the resources on the island. We source local suppliers first before using international suppliers. This creates a challenge to get sufficient and consistent quality supplies from the local vendors.

TP: Haiti experienced a downturn in leisure visitor totals in 2016 after strong arrivals in the previous three years. How did this impact the hotel’s operations?

EW: We have focused on the local community, offering staycations to those based in Haiti. According to our reports, business travelers are growing year over year in the Port au Prince market. As we have only been open since February 2015, we have not seen a decline in leisure travelers for our hotel.

TP: Is the hotel attracting leisure clients among the business people who are its main customers?

EW: Yes, we focus on the Haitian Diaspora overseas and local leisure travelers. We love seeing families reuniting at our hotel, sometimes for the first time in ten to twenty years.

TP: What has been the most popular aspect of the hotel based on your experience with guests?

EW: The genuine, caring staff — we consistently receive great feedback regarding the staff.

TP: Has the hotel maintained its initial policy of local sourcing of goods and services? What hotel products and/or services is the hotel currently sourcing locally?  

EW: Yes, we have maintained and continued to grow the list of local products and vendors that we are utilizing. We continue to source bath amenities in all guest rooms through Ayiti Natives. All of the coffee served in the hotel is Rebo Coffee, all of the fruits and vegetables, juices, the chicken, goat, and lamb, I would say 80 percent of the menu, is source locally. The Chocolate Marquise are from local Haitian Chocolate. Additionally, we continue to focus on supporting local artisans with the addition of [our] 2nd Story Shop. In addition to the shops we have an Artisan’s Market and we give cards to guests that are made by Nos Petits Petit Freres and the Soueres orphanage.

TP: Are there new plans for the hotel that have not yet been announced?  

EW: For 2017, we will grow our local talent base by hiring a new, local director of food and beverage. Within the last year we have also had a lot of staff movement within the hotel, including Stanley growing from a front desk agent to supervisor and Stephanie in housekeeping transitioning from a lead to a supervisor.

Anyone who came to the hotel in the first year met Wisly at the front door. Now Wisly is at the front desk. Marvins started as a pool attendant [and] wanted to grow but needed to become more proficient in English. He requested to be switched to the night shift so he could take English during the day and now he has been promoted to doorman. 

The hotel will also continue to offer Mojito and Jazz nights and Sunday brunches among its ongoing special events to offer options in the neighborhood.

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