On July 3, 2026, Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism gathered a broad cross-section of stakeholders at Port-au-Prince’s Oasis Hotel to celebrate National Tourism Day, centered on the unifying theme “Heritage, Investment, and Territorial Recovery.” The high-level event brought together top government officials, private sector leaders, members of the diplomatic corps, international development partners, and representatives from across Haiti’s fractured tourism industry to chart a path forward for an sector that holds enormous untapped potential for the Caribbean nation.
Attendees included Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé and six cabinet ministers spanning the tourism, diaspora, public works, trade, planning, and culture portfolios, reflecting the government’s framing of tourism as a whole-of-economy priority. The day’s discussions centered on positioning the sector as a core engine of inclusive economic growth, job creation, and post-crisis territorial recovery for Haiti.
In his keynote address to the assembly, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé underscored tourism’s unique cross-cutting strategic value to Haiti’s economy. He stressed that meaningful revitalization of the sector depends on close, sustained collaboration between public agencies, local municipal governments, domestic private businesses, and global partners. He reaffirmed the national government’s pledge to build a policy and security environment that encourages renewed investment, noting that a thriving tourism sector would deliver widespread benefits across all segments of the Haitian economy.
The Prime Minister also publicly recognized the remarkable resilience of Haiti’s private tourism sector, which has continued to allocate capital to new projects even amid ongoing economic and security challenges. Most recently, Haiti has seen progress on a private $20 million tourist complex development that signals growing confidence in the sector’s long-term prospects. Beyond economic commitments, Fils-Aimé reiterated the government’s core priorities: restoring widespread security across the country, advancing the national electoral process, and strengthening democratic state institutions. He closed his remarks by extending an invitation to international partners, friends of Haiti, and Haitians living in the diaspora to join the sector’s revival by rediscovering the nation’s unique cultural, historical, and natural treasures.
Tourism Minister Stéphanie Smith delivered a passionate, urgent appeal for global and local audiences to re-examine Haiti as a travel destination, highlighting the extraordinary diversity and richness of the country’s heritage that remains largely underpromoted. Smith outlined three clear strategic priorities guiding her ministry’s new policy agenda: elevating and preserving Haiti’s unique national heritage, rebuilding investor confidence to stimulate new capital inflows to the sector, and revitalizing regional tourism ecosystems across the country. The framework is rooted in an inclusive development model that centers local community participation and ensures regional communities capture shared benefits from tourism growth.
Smith called on all stakeholders – domestic citizens, the Haitian diaspora, the private sector, and international partners – to align efforts to rebuild Haiti into a competitive, welcoming, and sustainable travel destination for future generations. Echoing Smith’s call, Minister of Diaspora Kathia Verdier emphasized the outsized strategic role that Haitians living abroad can play in promoting Haiti as a credible tourist destination, reaffirming her ministry’s commitment to supporting sustainable, inclusive tourism development projects.
As part of the day’s celebrations, organizers presented public awards to three institutions that have made notable contributions to raising Haiti’s global profile in recent years: the Haitian Football Federation (FHF), the Haitian Tourism Association (ATH), and domestic carrier Sunrise Airways. By the close of the event, Smith reaffirmed her ministry’s commitment to partnering with every stakeholder group to roll out an ambitious national tourism policy that advances the core goals of heritage preservation, investment promotion, sustainable territorial development, and the repositioning of Haiti as a one-of-a-kind global travel destination.