Impacts of travel writing on post-conflict and post-disaster destinations: The case of Haiti

1. IMPACTS OF TRAVEL WRITINGS ON
POST CONFLICT AND POST DISASTER
DESTINATIONS: THE CASE OF HAITI
Dr Hugues SERAPHIN
The University of Winchester (Faculty Business, Law, Sport)

2. STRUCTURE
1 – Introduction
2 – Profile of the studied destination
3- Defining the travel writings
4 – Methodology
5 – Analysis
6 – Results and perspectives
7 - Conclusion

3. INTRODUCTION
Can travel writings influence tourists’
decision to visit Haiti?
3 types of travel writings:
(1)Bonjour blanc, a journey through Haiti
(Thomson, 2014, 2004) - Book
(2)Haiti (Clammer, 2012) – Travel guide
(3)Travel to Haiti: First Impressions (Noll &
Scott, 2014) - Blog

4. PROFILE OF THE STUDIED
DESTINATION
Haiti:
Used to be one of the most visited countries of the
Caribbean during the 1950s and 1960s (Séraphin, 2014)
Haiti has been branded as an unsecure destination, a
place where the worst is always likely to happen (Higate &
Henry, 2009)
2014 – Increase of 20% in terms of visitor number

5. DEFINING THE TRAVEL WRITINGS
Travel writing is the tale of a journey and since the tale of a
journey is the tale of a life experience, it has the witness value
and thus it is trustworthy (De Ascaniis & Grecco-Marosso, 2011)
Factors that explain why people decide to go (or not) to
a destination (Zelinsky, 1970):
1. Distance
2. Absence of international connectivity
3. Factors of attractiveness
4. Cost of the destination
5. Stability and image of the destination
6. Culture of the receiving destination
7. Information fed back to people in generating country
from tourists who have made previous visits to the
destination country

6. METHODOLOGY
3 types of travel writings:
(1)Bonjour blanc, a journey through Haiti (Thomson, 2014,
2004) - Book
(2)Haiti (Clammer, 2012) – Travel guide
(3)Travel to Haiti: First Impressions (Noll & Scott, 2014) – Blog
3 types of sources of data:
1) Book review sites (Amazon / GoodReads)
2) Travel site (TripAdvisor)
3) Blog (Uncornered market)
Analysis:
1) TextStat
2) SPSS

7. ANALYSIS
Bonjour blanc a journey through Haiti (Thomson, 2014,
2004)
Readers’ interest to visit Haiti
Haiti (Clammer, 2012)
No evidence guidebook can influence readers
Travels to Haiti: First Impressions (Nott & Scott, 2014)
Readers’ interest to visit Haiti

8. RESULTS AND PERSPECTIVES (1)

9. RESULTS AND PERSPECTIVES (2)

10. RESULTS AND PERSPECTIVES (3)

11. RESULTS AND PERSPECTIVES (4)

12. CONCLUSION
Evidence that the service provided is good
Information about events and sites to visit
Evidence of endorsements by opinion leaders who have
already experienced the destination
It is very important for Haiti to take ownership or control of its
image via a marketing strategy taking into account a wide
range of supports (travel writings included) – Appropriate
marketing action taken can change the image of a destination
(WTO, 2006)
Travel writings can no longer be overlooked by
DMOs

13. TO REFERENCE THIS PRESENTATION
Séraphin, H. (2015) Impacts of travel writing on post-conflict and post-disaster destinations: The
case of Haiti, River Tourism: The Pedagogy and Practice of Place Writing, University of Plymouth,
3rd June, [Online], available from:
http://www.fabula.org/actualites/colloque-river-tourism-the-pedagogy-and-practice-of-place-
writing_67346.php

14. REFERENCES
Séraphin, H. (2014) Bonjour blanc a journey through Haïti, as an original form of travel
writting, in Roselé Chim, P. & Raboteur, J. (Eds), Les Défis du développement du tourisme
et l'intelligence économique des territoires. Villes sur mer et en terre, Paris: Publibook
De Ascaniis, S., Grecco-Morasso, S. (2011). When tourist give their reasons on the web :
The argumentative significance of tourism related UGC. Information and communication
technology in tourism, 125-137
Higate, P., Henry, M. (2009). Insecure spaces, peacekeeping, power and performance in
Haiti, Kosovo and Liberia. Londres : Zed Books
Thomson, I. (2004). Bonjour blanc, a journey through Haiti, Londres: Vintage