Haitian President Jovenel Moise said President Trump’s offensive comments about his country have hurt its struggling tourism industry, according to a report.
“I must be clear with you,” Moise told ABC affiliate Local 10 News. “These comments haven’t helped our image or tourism industry. But to the rest of the world, I say Haiti is a beautiful place, an amazing place to visit.”
The president allegedly called Haiti, El Salvador and African nations “shithole countries” during a recent Oval Office meeting, and questioned why the US would want to welcome their immigrants.
Moise, who had been reluctant to address Trump’s disparaging remarks, said he regrets the negative comments coming from another country’s leader.
“The Haitian people are proud, and aspire for a better future,” he said in French, the country’s official language. “I see it as a call to arms.”
Haiti has been trying to revive its sputtering tourism industry, which also suffered a setback when the US State Department changed its travel advisory for the country from “exercise caution” to “avoid travel.”
The US cited Haiti’s high crime rate and civil unrest when it announced the decision in early January.
Moise wants Haiti to return to its heyday as a tourist hot spot.
The country has added more than 2,000 hotel rooms in recent years and the four-star Royal Decameron Indigo Beach Resort & Spa opened in December about 42 miles outside the capital.
“We really want to take this momentum to show Haiti is not all that negative on the news,” Moise told the news outlet