Is it ethical to vacation in Haiti now?

Dude… Too soon.

I can see this from both sides: on the one hand, is it ethical to be vacationing in a country where people are suffering? On the other, tourism is probably good for the economy. I’m not sure where I stand on the issue, but I think I think that if you want to go there and spend money and the structure is in place for you to do so, it’s o.k. to do.

I mean…. you could probably get a low cost rental place…....

I’m probably neutral, too, but here’s food for thought:

People vacation in countries where others are suffering all the time. That’s where stories like “I was staying in a 5 star hotel, and on the other side of the wall was destitute poverty” come from. Which is worse – people dying because of human-induced poverty or people dying from a natural disaster?

Ethically, no, it would not. I’m sure you would get a lot of hardship by most people ignorantly saying “How could you do that!” @lilikoi said everything else that would go along with this point. If that’s what you wanted to do though, then go for it. As well if I was wanting to travel to Haiti, I would go.

It seems to me that most of the money spent going to Haiti, doesn’t go to the impoverished, but to the people that already has money, but I don’t exactly see it as morally wrong. It is what it is. I don’t think I would enjoy it though.

If you want to help the economy or the rescue/reconstruction efforts, contribute to one of the many aid groups or go their as a volunteer. But vacationing amidst the destruction, poverty, death and human suffering? What help could that be, or pleasure it bring? Also,it’s just plain dangerous.

Moot point, I don’t think you can fly into the country right now. The infrastructure has been destroyed in and around Port au Prince.
No, I don’t think it is ethical right now.

@Tropical_Willie Cruise.

As long as one of your vacation activities include participating in the relief efforts, then you may go right ahead! :-D

@Tropical_Willie I think Haiti has more than one airport. The northern part of the country has been spared the brunt, you see.

I think it is ok. I mean there are people working at the resort who are Haitians right? After 911 most people in the US still went to work the next day. I think Americans think of Haiti as Port au Prince, but that city is not the whole country. The news is sayng Haiti Haiti Haiti reinforcing this. A large portion of the population is in the capitol, but the majority of the population lives outside of the capitol.

If I had plans to cruise to Haiti when the earthquake happened, I’d just include in the personal itinerary:

Visit disaster-stricken areas to see if I (and my traveling companions, if applicable) can help out in the relief efforts.

If you are from Red Cross and you want to help in between, you can.
But ethically speaking if you go there for a relaxing vacation, i don’t think you will enjoy it.

@EgaoNoGenki The only international airport I believe is in Port au Prince.

@oratio I don’t think you can tell the Captain of the Cruise Ship where you want to go. By the way think I heard on the news that it might take a year or more clear the harbor for general use.

@Tropical_Willie The article was about cruises and you spoke of flying. There are more ports in Haiti than that in Port-aux-Prince, which was damaged. They have nine in total.

I want to add to my answer. Even before this disaster Haiti was the poorest country in the western hemisphere. You could ask the same question in general. Is it ethical to be sipping margaritas when not far away people live in abject poverty? Either way you are ignoring what is around you; insulated in your resort bubble.

I got news for ya… chances are we’ve all vacationed within 100 miles of someone in abject poverty. There’s even a good chance you’ve relaxed, taken your ease, maybe thrown back a libation or two within 100 miles of a killer natural disaster here in the U.S., like a tornado, hurricance, earthquake, winter storm, heat wave, or flood.

I’d worry less about pointing fingers at other people and focus on what positive contribution I can make.

@robmandu I agree. Are you talking to me? My point was that was another reason it was ok to go to Haiti, for the reasons you sited, which reinforced what I said.

Assuming you can get where you want to vacation, and they have a staff on duty, you will be doing them a favor to help keep them employed in this time of hardship.

From another point of view, perhaps you could just relax locally, and send the money you save to the Red Cross.

Port Au Prince and the surrounding area has suffered appalling damage. However, there is most of the rest of the nation that has suffered little and which profits from the tourist ship trade. It is not right to deprive other areas of Haiti of income because the heavily populated capitol has been greviously damaged. There is no question of morality here.

If you are not looking for a way to really help, stay on the ship!

I agree with writemyselfaletter (whew!). Haiti main source of income is the tourist trade. There is hardly going to be enough money to help the devastated part of Haiti and taking away tourism will only devastate it more. As it is, tourist will more than likely travel to other countries and they are going to take a big financial hit in tourism this year. The only way I see it as a problem if you go to the devastated part just to stare and offer no help.
Not to mention that when people go back to work it helps the mind to have some sense of normal life. There are people who where not effected physically and who still have family they have to support. Most of the aid will probably go mostly to the injured and those out of homes. However there are people who still have homes and need to maintain it. You can’t set up unemployment for an entire country. If that where possible than Haiti would never have been so poor to begin with.

Headline: Haiti Aftershocks Will Continue for Months, Maybe Years
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/01/haiti-aftershocks-continue/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Still want to go to there on vacation? ;-)

@Austinlad I think the question is not whether one wants to go there necessarily, but whether the continuation of tourism is helpful to the country.

Yes, I understood that, janbb. I was harking back to my previous answerI and just having a little TGIF fun; hence, the wink.

A wink from a rabbi? Kinda kinky. (Friday the Rabbi Winked?)