FACTS AND FIGURES : FACTS AND FIGURES Haiti
In the north of the island you will find the idyllic beach resort of LABADEE. Here tourism continues despite the recent earthquake and tremors further south. Tourists are protected by fences and security guards.
The decision to continue to send in cruise liners is defended by the company (RCI), which feels that it is more helpful than pulling out:
The risks are constantly monitored.
The company has created 500 jobs in the last 30 years and it pays a levy of £6 per tourist. The RCI has transported half a million tourists to Labadee each year and over 900,000 tourists visit Haiti annually.
The RCI has promised $1 million to help Haiti. Cruise passengers have also contributed funds.
Cruise ships have been used to take much-needed supplies to the victims of the quake.
Tourism can help recovery. The industry will be able to start from scratch.
CRITICISM: insensitive, cynical, dishonest.
SOURCE:
www.spiegel.de/international/worlld - Cruising through Catastrophe? The Rights and Wrongs of a Holiday in Haiti. By Annette Langer
FACTS AND FIGURES 2 : FACTS AND FIGURES 2 MACHU PICCHU, PERU
Half a million people a year visit Machu Picchu, the 500 year old Inca settlement, making it the country’s top tourist attraction.
They go by helicopter, train or foot.
The risk of a major landslide was first predicted in the ‘90’s. Proposals to install a cable car and increase the number of visitors by 100,000 per annum were rejected as it was felt that constant vibrations would trigger a landslide. There has been pressure from hotel and transport companies to build one.
A helicopter landing site was built by clearing an important site.
Thousands of people have walked the stone trail to reach Machu Picchu each year. The path is littered with tea bags and water bottles.
The government has attempted to restrict the environmental damage.
The government has pledged large amounts to restore transportation to the area. Machu Picchu will be closed for months, so a new attempt to keep tourists coming has been launched: “Meet Peru Now”, to encourage them to other areas.
SOURCES: National Geographic John Roach 15-4-02 Under Threat from the Pressures of Tourism.
Worldhum.com
Questions to consider: : Questions to consider: Should tourists be allowed to return to disaster zones?
Are some countries TOO dependent on tourism?
Has touristic imagery of idyllic holidays hidden the real problems of development from holiday-makers?
Should you have to have a licence to be a tourist?
(Onestopenglish.com)
class : class Please come along and enjoy the discussion on Wednesday at 8.30pm gmt or Friday at 5pm gmt.
www.wiziq.com/englishanne
Email: anne.o.fraser@ntlworld.com
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Please look for your own information – but you don’t need to be an expert!