The man known as Haiti Travel Guy ranks as one of the biggest Haiti Tourism enthusiasts on social media and elsewhere. Also known as Terry Curtis, the travel adventurer and tourism consultant is the founder of Haiti tourism firm Haiti Travel Adventures. Many a blan who write about Haiti have to walk on eggshells, and watch their tongue lest they should get their #TeamHaiti card snatched, and get dragged by their edges by #TeamHaiti. Not Haiti Travel Guy. He tweets about the beauty of Haiti, and its tourism treasures, but he doesn’t present tropical glitter without delivering some hard truths. Hard truths that come in the form of comments about bad roads, occasional bad customer service, and the like.

Through his tweets and his website, many an adventurous traveler are finding Haiti, or rediscovering it. He promotes Haiti like he’s part of a secret department in Haiti’s Department of Tourism.

Kreyolicious: You write positively of Haiti, and with sweet humor, but you definitely don’t sugarcoat matters with cherry on top. Matter a fact, you’re pretty blunt at times. Sometimes #TeamHaiti and Haitian Twitter don’t like to hear or read ugly truths about Haiti to be highlighted by a blan. Why do you think you’ve never had your lari card, your Team Haiti pass card revoked?
Every week I go to the Haitian Post Office but my card never showed up in the mail. [Smiles] You know, I love to promote Haiti as I travel. But sometimes, you have to laugh at the differences in cultures to make a point. We have to be able to laugh at ourselves in this world. We just need to be respectful. As much as I will promote Haiti, it comes with a great responsibility to not paint a picture that will only disappoint or get someone in trouble. Haiti is not the Virgin Islands. Being in denial is not change. Being honest about the challenges and differences is to let others know this place is just not for everyone. Yet. This is probably why I’ve never been approached by Haiti tourism officials. [Smiles]

Kreyolicious: We went from hearing about Port-au-Prince a lot. A whole lot…to hearing about other cities too. What do you feel is Haiti’s most underrated city?
Au Cayes is a nice quiet little town by the beach. It’s the distance I think that keeps most from making it a destination. But with a few more hotels, there’s no reason it couldn’t be like a Jacmel.

Above: Haiti Travel Guy visits a fishing coast in Gonaives.

Kreyolicious: I remember reading your review of this hotel in Haiti called Le Perroquet, written a while back, and then seeing tweets about a fire there a few months ago. What’s your reaction when something like that happens…when things seem to be upward bound, and then, and then tragedy.
This was an unfortunate fire. A lot of history there. I remember when it was the Cubana and then the Le Perroquet. It was one of the only decent little hotels right in Petionville for about $60 a night. It was also one of Haiti’s first and oldest English Pubs. There was a fabulous antique wooden bar in there. Sad to see all this destroyed.

Above: A beach in the northern part of Haiti. Photo Credit: Haiti Travel Guy

Kreyolicious: Have you ever thought of doing a travel guide? Something alongside The Haiti Travel Guy’s Guide To Haiti and Things To Do There or 1001 Fun Things to Do While in Haiti.
Great idea. But I’d need a writer. [Smiles] Honestly, I left that up to professionals like Paul Clammer. His latest guide is a very nice tool for those visiting.

Kreyolicious: What’s next for HTG?
As Haiti elects a new president and the next chapter of government takes shape, I am hoping the progress that started will continue. Government stability, security and infrastructure are the keys to building a successful tourism industry. If and when this happens, I am just blessed to be along for the ride.

This concludes Part II of the interview with Haiti Travel Guy. Did you miss PART I? Click here! Be sure to follow Haiti Travel Guy on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM. And don’t forget to visit his website to get more information about booking him for your next visit:—HAITI TRAVEL ADVENTURES!

One of the most influential figures in the Haiti tourism game isn’t Haitian born, but a native of Minnesota name Terry Curtis, better known by the social media handle Haiti Travel Guy. Having visited the country shortly after the 2010 earthquake, the travel consultant has seen the country’s transition from post-earthquake territory to the reconstruction phase. Seeing the country’s tourism potential, he started Haiti Travel Adventures, a Haiti tourism and travel consulting venture.

Above: Haiti Travel Guy (right) explores the city of Gonaives! A visit to a furniture maker in that city.
Kreyolicious: What’s new with Haiti Travel Guy and tour tour company Haiti Travel Adventures?
I can’t believe its been six years since I first stepped foot into Haiti. In those six years, I’ve seen a lot of change. The first two, three years, there was a lot of growth in new hotels, restaurants and businesses in the central business district of Port-Au-Prince and Petionville. Over the past couple of years, that’s slowed down with fewer and fewer NGO’s and UN on the ground. Prices across the segments have come down. Rent is cheaper. The dollar is higher and demand is down. But for some, that’s not all good. Haiti continues to remain in a stage of “development” along with being unstable and unpredictable. But for some instability equals cash. Just not tourism cash. Tourism travel is still limited to those a little more adventurous. Many are visiting the neighboring Dominican Republic, and want to take the bus over for a day or two to see the country. Having started my efforts in 2010 a lot of people doing research will find me online. I get two to three calls a week from someone looking for more information regarding traveling to Haiti. Typically solo adventure travelers, photographers, artists and diaspora.

Above: It’s jazz night in Petionville. Photo Credit: Haiti Travel Guy

Kreyolicious: Have you ever been approached by Haiti tourism officials for collaborations?
No. But I don’t really offer group tours as much as I provided one-on-one services. I’ve helped small groups, but its just not my thing. It’s not how I ever wanted to travel and group tours is just not something everyone is looking for. When I travel, I spend time building social equity with neighborhoods, families and people. Once established, I enjoy the things like being invited into a small home for a traditional Haitian meal or having a beer at a small establishment deep inside a bidonville [inner-city]. These are things that are difficult to do with a group of people, and in most cases, I am only with one or two other travelers seeking that sort of access to the culture. In the past few years there have been some great collaborations in organized tour companies offering group tours a few times a year. Belle Vue and My Haiti Travels are two that have been successful and that I’ve recommended to most.

For me, this mission to show people a different Haiti has become more of a passion than a business mission. Often times, I find myself consulting with folks on travel plans, finding hotels and places to visit. I’ve helped people relocate to Haiti to start businesses and diaspora looking to return and retire. Still today, most of the folks who contact me are from countries other than the United States. Most inquiries from the U.S. are from Haitian diaspora who left Haiti as a child and are now interested in returning and for some reason seem to trust a crazy blan to help them. [Smiles] The most rewarding part for me is to be traveling back to Haiti and someone on the plane will recognize me and say something like “hey you helped me visit Haiti five years ago and now we visit all the time”. For me, that’s how Haiti is going to change. People visiting and investing their time and money.

Above: Salt flats in Gonaives. Photo Credit: Haiti Travel Guy

Kreyolicious: What are some tourism improvements you’ve seen since you’ve been in Haiti?
If any…As I mentioned, the hotels have been a big improvement. After the big ones came, all the small family-owned boutique hotels that offer a great experience. Roads have been built and improvements to others are taking place. But the single biggest need from the government is infrastructure. You have to build it—and maintain it.

Kreyolicious: What’s your favorite spot in Haiti?
I would have to say Cap Haitien.

Above: A pile of fresh seafood from Haiti’s waters! Photo Credit: Haiti Travel Guy

Kreyolicious: Why?
It’s probably my first choice now for retirement. Excellent little city with sidewalks, green space, beaches, businesses and restaurants without all the hassle of Port Au Prince and Petionville. They have their own airport, real taxis, and the people there just seem to be more relaxed.

This concludes Part I of the interview with Haiti Travel Guy. While you wait for Part II, be sure to follow Haiti Travel Guy on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM. And don’t forget to visit his website and get information on how to book him for you next vacation to Haiti: —HERE!

Toby Simon is the woman behind Travels With Toby. She’s one of the many entrepreneurs who’ve noted the tourism potential in Haiti, and have dived right in. Call her style…boutique tourism. She searches out small groups and brings them to Jacmel and other less-frequently traveled areas in Haiti. It’s all about making it a unique experience for these travelers, and making a big deal of everything Haiti has to offer.

Kreyolicious: Tell us about yourself and how you came upon Haiti.
My professional work is in health education and public health. My area of expertise is in human sexuality which I’ve taught at numerous colleges and universities. About Twenty-One years ago, my husband was contacted by a board member at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital [medical facility in Haiti]. They were recruiting him to be their CEO. He couldn’t take the position at that time, but said he’d love to volunteer as a pediatrician for a few weeks so the Haitian physicians could take some vacation. It was a year after the latest coup d’etat and things were a bit dicey in Haiti. What else is new! I wanted to go and wasn’t sure what I’d do there. In the end, my expertise and fluency in French turned out to be a huge plus for the community health department of the hospital. And for me, it was the beginning of my love affair with Haiti. I even took daily Kreyol lessons with one of the local boys.

Kreyolicious: Out of all Haiti’s cities, what drew you to Jacmel?
All my Haitian friends recommended I visit Jacmel. They talked up the art scene, the progressive politics, the sea, and the small town charm. My husband and I went on a vacation there and then we were both hooked!

Kreyolicious: What’s the Haiti tourism scene like from your perspective?
I’m always pleasantly surprised when I meet other tourists in Haiti. Last December I met a group from England which was just great. So from my perspective, Haiti needs tourists. Badly. They need people staying in the lovely small hotels in Jacmel and Cap Haitien and PauP AND spending money in local restaurants and in local art shops and galleries. Haiti doesn’t need all inclusive hotels like the DR because the local communities don’t benefit from them. I’ve met slot of the Haitian diaspora who are vacationing in Haiti and they are always very positive about the experience. I’ve been bringing American tourists on my tours and they have loved the experience.

Sharing the Jacmel experience with a group.

Kreyolicious: What do you feel is lacking?
There are some of the typical infrastructure problems. For example, if you could land in Port-au-Prince and then get a small plane to Jacmel, Les Cayes or Port Salut, you could save so much time and avoid the horrendous traffic in Port-au-Prince. Finding local drivers is very easy in Haiti and the hotels can easily set up visitors with drivers. Security and safety are always a concern which is why I use a driver and sometimes a rental car. And we avoid areas that might be unsafe—especially in the evening. There’s not that much lacking as far as I’m concerned: tourists to Haiti are special types of tourists. They’re not looking for deluxe hotels, gazillion amenities and abundant towels in the hotel room. They are looking for authenticity and adventure. They are open-minded about seeing parts of the world that have many assets—and not just problems.

Kreyolicious: What do you feel is being done right?
I love the appreciation from every Haitian I’ve encountered when I’ve told them about Travels With Toby in Haiti. Haiti is open for business, and eager to have it. Being totally “herself” is what people love about the country.

Kreyolicious: For those who’ve never heard of Haiti or those who have heard not too positive things…what’s it like recruiting them?
So far, I haven’t recruited anyone who’s reluctant to come. People ask about safety issues and even they know that parts of Brooklyn are a lot more dangerous than Haiti! People usually have questions about the food, what to do about the water, what kinds of places we will visit.

Kreyolicious: What has the reaction been from the tourists you have brought into Haiti so far?
They have loved the experience! I bill or promote the trip as eco/educational. Since I’ve been working and visiting Haiti for the past Twenty-One years, I have lots of contacts with wonderful organizations that are doing exemplary, sustainable and vital work. We visit these places and it’s been a hugely popular aspect of the trips. We do not do any service work since I feel one of Haiti’s big problem is that there are way too many Non-governmental agencies in Haiti. The planes are full of people with rescue fantasies and missionary groups. These visitors do nothing for the tourism industry. They don’t truly understand sustainability, and it’s not clear to me if they want to.

One of the prerequisites prior to a TWT Tour is to do some reading on Haiti and viewing some videos about the country. However, my experience from Twenty-One years ago and that of all my TWT travelers, has been that even if you’ve done some reading, you are never truly prepared for what you’ll see. The grinding poverty is pretty overwhelming and Americans rarely are exposed to this in our country. Part of why my tours include visits to sustainable NGOs and other organizations is to balance the feeling overwhelmed by the sights in the streets with projects that are actually hopeful, impactful and efficacious.

I also include readings on sustainable development. A huge problem in Haiti, also known as The Republic of 10,000 NGOs, is the vast number of these groups in the country. There’s a lack of communication among many of them, little coordination, and way too much unaccounted money. In my opinion, some of the missionary groups may be the worst offenders. Many are so focused on orphanages and don’t want to acknowledge that orphanages represent colossal failure of the system. They think that holding and kissing Haitian orphans will be impactful to the child. Or that building new orphanages is the solution. It’s frustrating to me and I think I owe it to people coming on my trips to get as good an understanding of sustainability as possible, to see the ways that some “do-gooders” aren’t really effective. The tourism industry could be the ticket to get Haiti moving in the right direction, just as it’s done in the Dominican Republic. Haiti doesn’t need American visitors painting schools, dispensing toothbrushes or building more churches. Haitians need jobs, infrastructure, a working and transparent government among other things.

I’m on the boards of two wonderful Haitian organizations: the YWCA Haiti and GOALS Haiti. My tours usually involve visits to these groups.

Above: One of the beaches that Travel With Toby takes her Haiti tourism clients.

Kreyolicious: You have referred to your Haiti tourism activities as informal. Moving forward, do you see yourself getting more corporate?
I think the idea of bringing corporate types to Haiti is an excellent one. I’ve made some attempts to bring high level university officials to Haiti, with no success. I would love to work with corporations!

[All photos courtesy of Travels with Toby]

CHECK OUT TRAVELS WITH TOBY, AND BECOME A TOURIST ON ONE OF HER TRAVELS WITH TOBY HAITI TOURS!

Entrepreneurs like Ann-Sophie Ovile wants to make Haiti’s days at the bottom of world vacations list a thing of the past. To that end, she’s founded Mennenm La Tours, a travel and tourism company that creates custom packages with the discriminating tourist in mind. But there must be challenges in running such a company. For, as some pundits have been quick to point out, Haiti’s past as a hot tourism spot was decades ago.

But things have been turning upwards for Haiti tourism, and Ann-Sophie Ovile finds herself among the players flipping the cards, and maneuvering the domino cubes to increase visitors to Haiti.

Read on as the travel entrepreneur discusses the origin of her Haiti tourism company, her offerings, and Haiti’s future as a tourism spot.

K. St. Fort: What made you start Mennenm La Tours?
From a young age, I had a passion for entrepreneurship. It has always been something that came to me naturally. I used to bring back seashells from the beach and sell them at school. At the time, I lived in Haiti and every summer, I used to travel for vacation. But then, in 2010, after the earthquake, I left Haiti. From this moment, my parents decided that, in the summer, my sister and I would come to Haiti and discover our own land. This is when I really fell in love with Haiti. I discovered so many places that I did not know existed. I fell deeply in love with the countryside’s simplicity, with the people, the little things that make our culture. And I started telling myself: “Haiti is too rich to be poor. What can I do to bring a change?”

Above: Mennem La tourists participating in a segment of an eco tour.

This is when I started thinking. I did not have any particular idea. I just had this passion in my heart and I knew that I could create something out of it! I am very passionate, and it is probably what made me go for it. Then tourism started taking a bigger proportion in Haiti thanks to the ex-minister of tourism Stephanie Villedrouin and it inspired me even more. I wanted to take tourism to another level without ignoring our rich cultural baggage. I wanted the local communities to benefit from it. I wanted people to come to Haiti and see more than a beautiful beach. I wanted them to discover and to learn. And through brainstorming, traveling inside the country, meeting local communities, motivation and prayer, all of the pieces came together. They still are…I am learning as I am evolving in this business.

Now Mennen’m La is launched and evolving. Our mission is to introduce social and sustainable tourism through excursion where the tourists get to stay at local’s homes or camping in their villages. Plus, we make sure that they benefit from the activity by offering their art classes and other activities in our packages. We hire them as cooks, fishermen and all other jobs we might need for the tours.

K. St. Fort: Was your company name a no-brainer?
Mennen’m La means “Take Me There” in Creole, which is the name of my Instagram travel page and blog that I started in 2013. Through them, I share my travel pictures and stories around the world. So when I decided to launch the business, it came naturally!

K. St. Fort: What is the Haiti tourism scene like right now?
There is still a lot to be done. However, there is a movement taking place and we can all feel it! On one hand, because of the publicity that has been made through the ex-minister of tourism many people have developed the desire to come to Haiti and the numbers don’t lie. In 2014, Haiti received a total of 465,174 stay-over visitors for the year, up 10.8 % t from the previous year, according to the Caribbean Journal. This is not something that can be ignored. Also many expats living here in Haiti, are traveling through the country to discover more of Haiti. Most of the time, these people do not find enough activities or support as tourists because this sector is still so new in [modern-times] Haiti…But we are getting there step by step. I just wish more people saw the importance of this industry.

Above: Musicians with hand-made instruments preparing a performance for Mennem La customers.

K. St. Fort: What is a typical Mennen’m La tourist like?
Adventurous! Mennen’m La is a completely adventurous, out of the ordinary experience. I mean…we sleep under tents, learn how to cook with locals—and so much more. The tourists need to keep an open mind and be ready to rediscover Haiti. We get customers of all ages and all nationalities and I love it!

K. St. Fort: What’s it like running a Haiti tourism business?
Challenging of course. There are not enough tourists yet, the economy is low which makes it hard to find many people who can afford these kinds of activities. Working with locals is hard as they are not used to receiving people and working in the tourism industry. They do not have bathrooms so I have to invest in toilets. I have to train them and there is so much workload that is under-estimated.

K. St. Fort: You have four custom tours. Tell us about them. Which ones are most popular?
I offer the beach bum, historical, the artsy and the eco tour. The names speak for themselves. The beach bum is for the beach lovers, the eco tour is more about cave discoveries, waterfalls, reforestation and more. The historical is more about ruins, historical sites and fortresses. The Artsy tour is for the art lovers. When I think artsy, I think Jacmel, art classes, paintings—and all of that good stuff. But besides those, I also plan customized tours for clients who wish to go on an excursion with their own groups.

K. St. Fort: Anything in your background that makes running your company easy?
My drive I would say. Because I am passionate about my work, even the toughest moments are worth it. My love for Haiti and my desire to see things get better. My studies in international business—and most importantly—the support I get from my family. They are my best volunteers and supporters.

K. St. Fort: What would you say to a prospective Haiti tourism client?
That Haiti is worth it. That there is a lot that needs to be done but so much to discover! And of course I would tell him to book a tour with Mennen’m La.

[All photos by Verdy Verna. Main photo furnished by subject.]

VISIT MENNENM LA TO BOOK A TOUR AND TO LEARN EVEN MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY!