WEEKLY ROUND-UP #29 (01 AUGUST-07 AUGUST)

We will go back to some of our tweets of interest of the past week and expand further on the indicators that we presented as they affect the security situation of a country. When we produce vulnerability assessments for our clients, six threat factors are analyzed and assessed while four hazards are also analyzed and assessed. If gaps are identified they are covered by atmospherics elements. The goal of our tweets is to highlight and provide examples of the research that we do.

From 05 August:

1.  Soon traveling to Lebanon, Tunisia, Russia, Bahrain, Kenya or Honduras? Know that these countries have deteriorating security situation. You need comprehensive insight & situational awareness prior to travel.

Our comment: There are many countries for which travel is not recommended for many different reasons but often the socio-economics are common factors to most destinations. More often than not the security situation to those regions is degraded and violent crimes and/or civil unrest dominate the concerns for travellers. Thousands of travellers make the decision to travel despite of the relevance of their government travel advice (which remain reactive). For many, some of them are frequent business travellers , NGOs or dual citizens who should have the proper insight to act in ways that eliminate many unfortunate eventualities to their persons. Not so for the first time visitor or for foreigners. Foreigners have different cultures, often from a different ethnic background, they may dress abnormally to local inhabitants, behave slightly contrarily but often all appear affluent to the locals.
This is very much so for countries such as the ones we tweeted, which were mere samples of the bigger picture: probably over 60% of the world's countries are risky to varying degrees from a threat and hazard standpoint to visitors, tourists and business people alike. This is also true for Haiti. We all know that Haiti was hit by a catastrophic earthquake in January 2010. Since then the country also experiences with bouts of cholera and chykungunya and other health aggravations. A vastly unemployed citizenry that somewhat disenfranchised a large segment of the population, malnutrition and a very fragile and already inadequate infrastructure add to a serious situation.
There are some positives to highlight of late. By doing a google news search of "Haiti tourism" many interesting results pertaining to important projects such as a tourism port on the island of Latortue or added airline flights do constitute potential "come back" opportunities for its tourist industry.


Our outlook: We consider Haiti to be a diamond in the rough and many opportunities are available for the once Pearl of the Caribbean. Investments into business ventures and a stimulated tourism sector would do wonders for the economy, resulting in meaningful employment for many and the necessary funds to rebuild Haiti's infrastructure along as to relieve its bruised national pride. For now, there are many obstacles to circumvent prior to declaring the country a haven for visitors. The potential threats along with the hazards present country wide warrant serious consideration prior to travelling to Haiti and visitors need to know what await them and we recommend that travellers seek consultation from a risk management firm such as us, in addition to monitoring the news and referring to your government travel advice.

We welcome inquiries so we can determine your security needs. Your first consultation is always free. We invite you to review our past twitter posts @parsecconsult as well as this blog's entries. We encourage feedback and questions to our e-mail:parsec.consulting@gmail.com

Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting

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