HOME | CHECKOUT | ABOUT | FAQ | CONTACT US |
 
Welcome Guest [create an account] or log-in:
email
password

Chapter 5 Hope for Haiti How media narratives can transform a destination in despair

DOI: 10.23912/9781911396673-4116

ISBN: 9781911396673

Published: July 2019

Component type: chapter

Published in: Reputation and Image Recovery for the Tourism Industry

Parent DOI: 10.23912/9781911396673-3803

10.23912/9781911396673-4116

Abstract

Haiti has been beset by a series of natural disasters over the past decade, notably the 2010 7.0 magnitude Haiti Earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which caused catastrophic flooding. However, in addition to the natural disasters, Haiti is the poorest economy in the western hemisphere and has a history of politically turbulent events, each of which have contributed to despair and a negative destination image (Séraphin, 2018; Séraphin et al., 2017). This is a troubling combination for a tourist destination. Haiti, as a destination in the Caribbean, has a strategic advantage with its expansive coast and natural attractions, but the underdevelopment of tourism in Haiti is linked to shadows of natural disasters, economic dependence on foreign aid and political uncertainty (see Séraphin et al., 2017; Wise and Díaz-Garayúa, 2015). The power of nature has placed much media attention on Haiti, and it has gained much negative attention in recent years in the media, but the images of a ‘beautiful destination’ is now changing the narrative to a destination on the rise (Caribbean News Now, 2017a; The World Bank, 2018). However, tourism in a developing country comes with numerous obstacles, as extensive investments are needed to allow tourism to thrive in the increasingly competitive Caribbean market. This is where the media plays a crucial role in transforming how a destination is portrayed. This chapter will assess narratives sourced from newspaper travel articles published in 2017 to understand how presentations of tourism in Haiti are constructing a new image of the country as an emerging tourism destination—an attempt to overcome the range of negative connotations. However, while the chapter focuses on image recovery in relation to the recent natural disasters in Haiti, it must also be noted that Haiti is also a destination with longstanding image issues given the extent of poverty, violence and political corruption (Séraphin, 2018).

Sample content

Click here to download PDF

Contributors

  • Nicholas Wise, School of Sport Studies, Leisure and Nutrition, Liverpool John Moores University. Liverpool, UK. (Author)

For the source title:

  • Gabby Walters, Tourism Discipline, School of Business, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD (Editor)
  • Judith Mair, Associate Professor, UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Australia (Editor)

Cite as

Wise, 2019

Wise, N. (2019) "Chapter 5 Hope for Haiti How media narratives can transform a destination in despair" In: Walters, G. & Mair, J. (ed) . Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers http://dx.doi.org/10.23912/9781911396673-4116

References

Ali, Z. (2013) Media myths and realities in natural disasters, European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 2 (1), 125-133.

Avraham, E. (2016) Destination marketing and image repair during tourism crises: The case of Egypt, Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 28, 41-48.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2016.04.004

Baloglu, S. & McCleary, K. (1999) A model of destination image formation, Annals of Tourism Research, 26 (4), 868-897.

https://doi.org/10.1016/s0160-7383(99)00030-4

Beerli, A. & Martín, J.D. (2004) ‘Factors influencing destination image’. Annals of Tourism Research, 31 (3), 657-681.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2004.01.010

Boston Globe (2017) Houston will recover. Haiti might not, Boston Globe, 6 September.

Caribbean News Now (2017a) OPINION: The extraordinary tourism potential of Haiti’s cultural calenda’, Caribbean News Now, 25 February.

Caribbean News Now (2017b) Digicel and the entrepreneurial spirit in Haiti, Caribbean News Now, 26 December.

Castelltort, M. & Mäder, G. (2010) Press media coverage effects on destinations – A Monetary Public Value (MPV) analysis, Tourism Management, 31,724-738.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2009.06.007

Chatterji, R. (2016) Scripting the folk: history, folklore, and the imagination of place in Bengal, Annual Review of Anthropology, 45, 377-94.

https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-102214-014108

Comox Valley Record (2017) Haiti: Supporting a sustainable Haiti, Comox Valley Record, 9 June.

Daily Telegraph (2017) 50 Great ocean cruises; Holidays on the crest of a wave, The Daily Telegraph, 25 February.

Gotham, K.F. (2017) Touristic disaster: Spectacle and recovery in Post-Katrina New Orleans, Geoforum, 86, 127-135.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.09.005

Govers, R., Go, F.M. & Kumar, K. (2007) Promoting tourism destination image, Journal of Travel Research, 46 (1), 15-23.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287507302374

Guo, Z., Robinson, D. & Hite, D. (2017) Economic impact of Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast tourism on the regional economy, Ocean & Coastal Management, 145, 52-61.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.05.006

Hammett, D. (2014) Tourism images and British media representations of South Africa, Tourism Geographies, 16 (2), 221-236.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2012.762688

Hennessey, S. M., Yun, D., MacDonald, R. & MacEachern, M. (2010) The effects of advertising awareness and media form on travel intensions, Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 19 (3), 217-243.

https://doi.org/10.1080/19368621003591335

Impact Travel Media Network (2017) Why Haiti needs sustainable tourism more than ever before, Impact Travel Media Network, 25 May.

Independent (2017) Haiti tourism: How this beautiful Caribbean country aims to attract more travellers, Independent, 8 May.

Jiang, Y. & Ritchie, B.W. (2017) Disaster collaboration in tourism: Motives, impediments and success factors, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 31, 70-82.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2016.09.004

Khazai, B., Mahdavian, F. & Platt, S. (2018) Tourism Recovery Scorecard (TOURS) – Benchmarking and monitoring progress on disaster recovery in tourism destinations’, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 27, 75-84.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.09.039

Kim, D. & Perdue, R.R. (2011) The influence of image on destination attractiveness, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 28 (3), 225-239.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2011.562850

Lai, W-H. & Vinh, N. (2013) Online promotion and its influence on destination awareness and loyalty in the tourism industry, Advances in Management and Applied Economics, 3 (3), 15-30.

London Evening Standard (2017) Haiti: look beyond the rubble to find its rich history and natural beauty; Beyond Haiti’s turbulent recent history, outsiders are now discovering its natural beauty and rich culture, London Evening Standard, 5 May.

McQuail, D. (2010) Mass Communication Theory. London: Sage.

Miami Hurricane (2017) Architecture students inspire reconstruction of Haiti, The Miami Hurricane: University of Miami, 25 January.

Mika, K. (2018) Disasters, Vulnerability, and Narratives: Writing Haiti’s Futures, London: Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203733158-9

Morakabati, Y. (2017) It’s important to keep tourism afloat in areas that experience natural disasters, The Conversation, 26 September, https://theconversation.com/its-important-to-keep-tourism-afloat-in-areas-that-experience-natural-disasters-84461 [accessed 12 July 2018].

Muhoho-Minni, P. & Lubbe, B.A. (2017) The role of the media in constructing a destination image: the Kenya experience, Communication, 43 (1), 58-79.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02500167.2016.1226915

Nelson, V. (2013) Place image during transition: the case of Rijeka, Croatia,

Journal of Travel and Tourism Research (Online), 13 (1/2), 116-131.

New York Times (2017) In Haiti, tracing a paradise lost, The New York Times, 4 December.

Okuyama, T. (2018) Analysis of optimal timing of tourism demand recovery policies from natural disaster using the contingent behavior method, Tourism Management, 64, 37-54.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.07.019

Peltier, D. (2018) Puerto Rico emerges from Hurricane Maria with a plan andnew hope for tourism, Skift, 12 July, https://skift.com/2018/07/12/puerto-rico-emerges-from-hurricane-maria-with-a-plan-and-new-hope-for-tourism/[accessed 12 July 2018].

https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/jhkyv

Ritchie, B.W. (2009) Crisis and Disaster Management for Tourism, Bristol: Channel View Publications.

Séraphin, H. (2018) The past, present and future of Haiti as a post-colonial, post-conflict and post-disaster destination, Journal of Tourism Futures, 4 (3), 249-264.

https://doi.org/10.1108/jtf-03-2018-0007

Séraphin, H., Butcher, J. & Korstanje, M. (2017) Challenging the negative images of Haiti at a pre-visit stage using visual online learning materials, Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 9 (2), 169-181.

https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2016.1261146

Séraphin, H., Yallop, A.C., Capatîna, A. & Gowreesunkar, V.G. (2018) Heritage in tourism organisations’ branding strategy: the case of a post-colonial, post-conflict and post-disaster destination, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 12 (1), 89-105

https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcthr-05-2017-0057

Sharpley R. & Wright D. (2018) Disasters and disaster tourism: The role of the media, in P. Stone, R. Hartmann, T. Seaton, R. Sharpley & L. White (eds.),

The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 335-354.

Travel Pulse (2017) Haiti poised for huge tourism bounce back, Travel Pulse, 15 March.

Tsai, C-H. & Chen, C-W. (2011) The establishment of a rapid natural disaster risk assessment model for the tourism industry, Tourism Management, 32 (1), 158-171.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2010.05.015

Weekly Trust (2017) Dancing to beats at 2017 African Drums Festival, Weekly Trust, 6 May.

Walters, G., Mair, J. & Lim, J. (2016) Sensationalist media reporting of disastrous events: Implications for tourism, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 28, 3-10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2016.04.008

Wang, D., Chan, H. & Pan, S. (2015), The impacts of mass media on organic destination image: A case study of Singapore, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 20 (8), 860–874.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2014.948464

Wise, N.A. (2011) Post-War tourism and the imaginative geographies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, European Journal of Tourism Research, 4 (1), 5-24.

Wise, N. & Díaz-Garayúa, J. (2015) The island of Hispaniola: Disputed/contested territorial histories and cultural identities between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, in E. Brunet-Jailly (ed.), Border Disputes: A Global Encyclopedia, Westport, CT: ABC-Clio.

Wise, N., Flinn, J. & Mulec, I. (2015) Exit Festival: Contesting political pasts, impacts on youth culture and regenerating the image of Serbia and Novi Sad, in T. Pernecky and O. Moufakkir (eds.), Ideological, Social and Cultural Aspects of Events, Wallingford, UK: CABI, pp. 60-73.

https://doi.org/10.1079/9781780643526.0060

Wise, N. (2017) Interpreting media content post-conflict: Communications of ‘travel’ and ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina in U.S. newspapers, 20 years post-Dayton’, Društvena Istraživanja, 26 (3), 363–383.

https://doi.org/10.5559/di.26.3.03

Wise, N.A. & Mulec, I. (2012) Headlining Dubrovnik’s tourism image: Transitioning representations/narratives of war and heritage preservation, 1991–2010, Tourism Recreation Research, 37 (1), 57-69.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2012.11081688

Wise, N. & Mulec, I. (2015) Aesthetic awareness and spectacle: communicated images of Novi Sad, the Exit Festival and the Event Venue Petrovaradin Fortress, Tourism Review International, 19 (4), 193-205.

https://doi.org/10.3727/154427215x14456408880993

World Bank (2018) What is next for Haiti’s tourism? Improving resilience and creating a new destination in the Caribbean, World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/04/03/what-is-next-for-haitis-tourism [accessed 1 October 2018].

Available

Published in Reputation and Image Recovery for the Tourism Industry

Paperback format [Details] Available as an inspection copyPrice: €50.00Copies / Delivery by post
Terms and conditions of purchase | Privacy policy