GO...UP & AWAY - JAXFAX Travel Marketing Magazine

Iwon’t attempt to recap what you don’t already know or
have not learned about Haiti since the deadly earthquake
shattered Port-au-Prince last month.
Across my desk have arrived a slew of press releases
Upgraded,
in the air and on the ground.
Now with entertainment systems and
���������� �������� �� ����� ����� ��� ������
from the U.S. to MoscowÕs Sheremetyevo 3
Terminal D (SVO-D).
Enjoy our upgraded services and new schedule:
� NEW ���������������� �������� ������ ������� ���� �� ����
�������� ����� ��� ��� ������� ������
� NEW �������� � �� �� ������������� ������ ��� ����� ��� ��� �����
���� �� �������� �� ��� ��������� ���� ��� ����� ��� ������������ �
�������� � ��������
� NEW ����� � ������ ��� ���� ��� � ��� ��� ��������� �� ���� ���
������ ��� ���� ��� � ��� ��� �������� �� ���� ���
� NEW ���� � ������� ��� ��� ��� ��� �������� �� ��� ���������
���� ���������� �� ����������
� MORE FLIGHTS � ���� ���� � �� ����� ��� �� ������ ������ ���� ����
www.aeroflot.com
www.aeroflotbonus.ru
EDITOR’S DESK
We Need a Bigger Plan
And a Longer Memory
Sheremetyevo-3 Terminal D
New Business Class Seats
from well-meaning agencies with suggestions for people
to participate, contribute to relief efforts to alleviate the
suffering of 100,000 (and counting) victims. Each pitch
appears worthwhile: from Doctors Without Borders, to
Partners in Health, to pay forward schemes with each
click of the mouse making micro donations [footprintsnetwork.org].
Of all of the relief efforts, however, there is one that carried
a message that could be a focus for the travel industry
in the next decades as it transcends Haiti. Just a Drop
appealed to the industry to raise funds to supply clean,
safe water to Haiti not just today or tomorrow but forever.
As emergency relief agencies attempted to get essential
supplies through in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake,
Just a Drop called for donations for ongoing support
for villages and communities. Hundreds of people
have died without access to clean, safe water supplies,
while 50% of the people in hospitals in Haiti are there due
to conditions caused by dirty water.
Fiona Jeffery, founder and chairman of Just a Drop, said,
“…once immediate needs are met, it is vital that support
is ongoing so that the recovery process is sustained. That
means rebuilding the water and sanitation infrastructure.”
That means creating wells and other ongoing sources of
clean water for the Haitian population; that means, that
water is a priority, something none of us ever think about
when we turn the tap water on, let it run until it reaches
the proper temperature. Are we spoiled? No, we’re lucky
not to be among the two billion people who face grinding
poverty where basic needs cannot be met; where people
must choose between feeding children with dirty water or
allowing them to dehydrate; and people earn less than $2
a day.
Dr. Basil Springer, founder and director of the Caribbean
Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism, which promotes
sustainable tourism development said, “Haiti’s crisis provides
an opportunity to lay a strong foundation on which to
reduce the wealth divide…”
Clean water could support other projects – education,
farming, sanitation – sustainable tourism built on a foundation
of fairness, wisdom and compassion. Mike Spinelli,
past president, the American Society of Travel Agents
(ASTA), and assistant chairman of the Haitian League,
said, “Ironically, the biggest problem Haiti faces is one of
charity being concentrated on eradicating Haiti’s problems,
and not the causes.”
Maria Lisella, Editor
8 FEBRUARY 2010 WWW.JAXFAX.COM