Local nonprofit joins revitalization effort in Haiti

When Canton resident Bruce Beckham gave up his marketing and consulting business 12 years ago to take over as executive director of a fledgling nonprofit aimed at preserving tourist sites, he didn’t expect to become a man of influence or an industry standard bearer.

He certainly didn’t envision a time when he would be rubbing shoulders with Hollywood A-listers or world leaders. Yet there he was, late last month, flying on a private jet to Haiti to tour a brand-new industrial park with a star-studded contingent led by former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The event, dubbed “A New Day in Haiti,” marked the grand opening of the 600-acre Caracol Industrial Park, a venture financed by the U.S. government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in partnership with Korean clothing manufacturer Sae-A Trading Co.

Notable guests at the day-long celebration included President of Haiti Michel Martelly and former president Rene Preval, IBD President Luis Alberto Moreno, Virgin Atlantic founder and British billionaire Richard Branson, actors-activists Sean Penn and Ben Stiller, and fashion designer Donna Karan, along with various State Department officials and world business leaders.

Some of the attendees, like Branson and Karan, are looking to develop business relationships in Haiti; others, including Penn, have been active in relief efforts in the aftermath of the devastating January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people.

In Beckham’s case, he was tapped by the Clinton Foundation in hopes that the organization he oversees, Tourism Cares, might be able to work with the Haiti government to help the country rediscover its potential as a tourist destination.

As Beckham explained in an interview with Travel Weekly, “Tourism Cares was there because board members Brad Finkle of TripMate, Don Hawkins of George Washington University, and Robin Tauck of Tauck World Discovery … set the stage for our participation. It is a tribute to Tourism Cares’ work and the Clinton Foundation’s belief that we can be a part of Haiti’s restoration and renaissance.”

Until recently, Tourism Cares has focused most of its energy on three major initiatives: awarding grants to cultural and historic sites around the world; supporting the future tourism workforce through scholarships, internships and mentoring programs; and bringing members of the current workforce together for cleanup and restoration projects as well as other volunteer opportunities.

The bulk of the group’s work has taken place at sites throughout the United States; however, just last May it launched a new Global Outreach Initiative that would appear to be a perfect fit for a potential partnership in Haiti.

“What we’re offering in this unique situation is to work with the Haiti Tourism Association and with their minister of tourism to bring to them the knowledge that we have in our stable,” said Beckham, “and we can gather those [industry experts] and go down there in the same way as any other missionary would.”

Beckham said the grants that Tourism Cares could offer would be small in comparison to what is needed, but what they can provide is expertise in a variety of areas — from service standards to marketing and knowledge of best practices.

He noted that the island nation was traditionally a great destination for tourists — the Clintons spent their honeymoon there — but it has been ravaged by poverty, violence, and natural disasters.

“Haiti has a lot to offer,” said Beckham. “It’s obviously had its political upheavals, and it’s created its own misery in a lot of cases, but it has great food, great beaches, great history, arts and culture, so there’s great potential there for a rebirth in the tourism industry.”

And while it will likely take years or even decades for Haiti to realize its full potential, Beckham came away from the visit excited and hopeful about his chance to contribute.

He credited the Clinton Foundation, and President Clinton in particular, with “getting the right people together” and using his connections to spur action and bring about change.

“The Clinton Foundation doesn’t have a ton of money,” he said, “but President Clinton certainly has a lot of influence. He’s a very charismatic individual who is very passionate about giving back and making the world a better place.”

Through a partnership with the foundation, Beckham envisions a program in Haiti similar to the one that Tourism Cares recently launched in Cusco, Peru. There the organization teamed up with the Peruvian tourism industry and some of the tourism students to share knowledge and ideas while also completing a service project at the San Pedro marketplace.

Beckham said they helped to make the massive indoor marketplace more appealing to tourists by painting over graffiti, planting flowers, and adding signage. “We made a huge difference in a day,” he said.

Beckham said there are numerous sites in Haiti that could be similarly transformed — places such as the Citadel, a magnificent mountaintop fortress that “nobody goes to” because there are no roads that lead to the site.

“This is not something that’s going to happen overnight,” he said, “but there are thousands of cruise passengers and tourists that would be interested in sites like this one. That’s what’s going to create commerce there, and commerce puts food on kids’ tables. Tourism is a tremendous way to build an economy.”

For more information about Canton-based Tourism Cares, go to www.tourismcares.org.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Nov 7 2012. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.