The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has reissued its travel advice for people who plan to visit Haiti. Due to last week’s 7.3 magnitude earthquake near Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, DFAT has added the disaster to a list of reasons for travellers to reconsider their visit.
“On 12 January 2010, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake occurred 22 kilometres west of the capital Port-au-Prince, causing casualties and widespread damage to infrastructure. Australians in Haiti should follow the instructions of local authorities,” reads the advice.
Existing advice, including warnings about “ongoing political instability, lawlessness and high levels of serious crime”, remain.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has also issued a statement about the country to show “solidarity with the people and the Government of Haiti”. The agency admitted that its own headquarters in Port-au-Prince has collapsed, leaving 150 of its staff unaccounted for.
An agency statement read: “UNWTO stands ready to lend its support during this difficult time by collaborating in the assessment of the damages caused, especially in the tourism sector, and contributing to a recovery plan in the conviction that tourism can become a useful instrument for the necessary reconstruction process.”
