28928: Benson: RE: Reply 28925: Morse (add) Tourism Labrom/Benson (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Legrace Benson <lgbenson@cbs.ucsb.edu>

Richard is spot on about spending $40,000 a year at Cornell to earn pennies
in Haiti. No sane person would do that.  He is also correct about the
competency of current Haitian staffs. Not only competency but also
graciousness which seems to be in too short supply even in the "hospitality"
industry. Many of us have endured hotels in the "hostility" industry.

The once-upon-a time Club Med (where I never stayed but did see), where all
the staff from yard keepers to waiters were Haitian, and --perhaps I was
wrong(?) all the supervisory and management staff were French or Swiss. It
is this situation, one typical of equatorial tourism right round the world,
that prompted my suggestion about the hotel school.  Now Richard obviously
doesn't need Cornell --Cornell could learn from him-- but the idea of moving
Haitians into top supervisory, accounting and management positions I think
is not out of consideration. Haiti is a locale where a tourism that favors
Haiti rather than some bank account in Zurich could be developed.

In addition to climate and a restorable beauty and intelligent, gracious
people, fascinating music and art, there is an enormously important history
with lieu de memoire all over the place that are meaningful to the world
beyond Haiti's borders. I am very aware of what makes the top dollar in
tourism and it's not history, and it's not ecotourism (which also had its
downside). However there are possibilities for a sturdy if not glorious
contribution to the economy.  I'd just like to see Haiti and Haitians
benefit, rather than some faceless consortium that uses Haiti as raw
material. It wouldn't hurt to see a well-paid Haitian who had graduated from
Cornell, given some konbit assistance from those interested.

LeGrace Benson
Arts of Haiti Research Project