A partnership to regain Haiti’s lost forest cover

By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

Haiti has lost as much as 98 percent of its forest cover over the decades, but the country has slowly been taking steps to regrow trees.

Now, JetBlue and the Marriott Port-au-Prince are helping boost these efforts.

The Marriott Port-au-Prince Hotel has partnered with JetBlue for an offer that hopes to draw travelers to Haiti this summer and contribute to Haiti’s reforestation drive.

From now until Aug. 29, anyone flying from Fort Lauderdale, Boston, or JFK to Port-au-Prince on JetBlue will receive a flat rate of $125 per night plus $1 breakfast per person at the hotel.

The $1 breakfast fee will be donated to MUCI, a Haitian organization dedicated to Haiti’s reforestation campaign, which sponsors the planting of one tree for each dollar donated.

Guests of the Marriott Port-au-Prince will not only aid in the reforestation effort, but will provide a positive impact on the local community, as the hotel employs 96 percent Haitians and has collaborated with 26 different local businesses to provide goods and services, the hotel said.

— CJ