Royal Caribbean is catching criticism for its return to Labadee, the private beach enclave in Haiti that the cruise line uses as a sunny port stop for some of its ships. Labadee suffered little impact from the recent earthquakes.
No doubt, the return to Labadee is good for Royal Caribbean, as fun, efficient port stops are at a premium. But don't fault Royal Caribbean for being insensitive to the pain of Haitians. Cruise passengers want to soak up the sun and spend money somewhere; it might as well be in Haiti. Besides, Royal Caribbean has been transporting tons of relief supplies and personnel on its ships. The cruise industry has stepped up to help Haitians.
This sensitivity issue pops up every time there's a natural disaster in a vacation destination. Travelers stop arriving, either out of guilt or a wish not to ruin their vacations with views of damage or pain.
Yet, following disaster assistance, what is the second plea of ravaged vacation areas, such as Haiti or New Orleans?
Vacationers: Please come back. We need your tourism dollars.
Royal Caribbean and its passengers would be doing no favors to Haiti by taking their vacation business elsewhere.
