January 19, 2010
The tourism industry in Haiti is being used to help the relief effort after last week devastating earthquake, with cruise ships being used to deliver aid and bypass the gridlocked airport in Port Au Prince.
Royal Caribbean Cruises pledge to provide at least $1 million in humanitarian relief and is using its ships to deliver supplies to its regular port-of-call Labadee.
All of the company’s net revenue from the destination will also be contributed to the relief effort.
When the supplies arrive in Labadee, they will be transported to an offsite location to be distributed by Food for the Poor, a long time partner of Royal Caribbean in Haiti.
Passengers onboard Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises are also being asked to make donations to Food for the Poor’s Haiti Relief Fund, via a charge to their onboard account.
Dominican Republic are being asked by TUI UK operators Thomson and First Choice to donate unused items at the end of their breaks to help earthquake survivors in neighbouring Haiti.
In-house airline Thomson Airways has been liaising with the Department for International Development to offer free cargo space for aid supplies to Haiti via flights to the Dominican Republic.
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Additionally, 40 free seats on flights over the next few days have been offered to the Disasters’ Emergency Committee to give to aid workers to reach the disaster zone as quickly as possible.
Virgin Atlantic is flying aid along with key medical personnel, aid agency workers and rescue teams to the region and has already committed to flying a minimum of 55 tonnes of cargo.
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