Script exploration

2_data_preparation/README.md

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 # Data Preparation
+
+## Haiti Tourism Data Pipeline
+
+A clean, reproducible, and fully documented data foundation built from official
+UNWTO sources
+
+This project transforms the raw and often unwieldy United Nations World Tourism Organization
+(UNWTO) Compendium of Tourism Statistics into clear, structured,
+and analysis-ready datasets — with a special focus on **Haiti**
+and a complete comparative panel of **30 Caribbean countries and territories**.
+ The data cover the full available series from **1995 to 2022**.
+
+## Project Structure
+
+### 1. `Extract_data_haiti_and_caribbean.ipynb`
+
+**Objective**: Fast, reliable, and one-time raw extraction from massive global files
+
+- Loads the four official UNWTO Excel workbooks (Arrivals, Purpose, Mode of Transport,
+ and Expenditure)
+- Isolates every single record belonging to Haiti across all sheets and years  
+- Simultaneously pulls the same indicators for 30 Caribbean countries
+  and territories for regional comparison  
+- Saves compact, raw extracted subsets as CSVs (one file per indicator)  
+
+### 2. `script_UN_tourism_caribbean_countries_cleaned.ipynb`
+
+**Objective**: Deliver one unified, tidy dataset for the entire Caribbean region
+
+- Removes all metadata clutter (flags, country codes, footnotes, notes)
+- Applies intuitive and consistent column names `country_receiving`, `year`, `number_of_tourists`.
+- Harmonizes visitor categories across countries and years:  
+ • Tourists (overnight visitors)  
+ • Excursionists (same-day visitors)  
+ • Total visitors  
+- Final output: **3,025 rows** of clean,
+ immediately usable Caribbean-wide tourism data
+
+### 3. `cleaned_data_haiti.ipynb`
+
+**Objective**: Produce publication-grade, Haiti-only datasets  
+Four focused and meticulously cleaned tables:
+
+- Arrivals by type of visitor
+- Purpose of visit (business, personal, total) – 66 rows
+- Mode of transport (air, sea/water, all modes combined)
+- Tourism expenditure and receipts (in current US$) – 28 rows
+
+Every file features simple column names, correct data types,
+transparent handling of missing values, and complete removal
+ of long original UN labels.
+
+## Conclusion – Ready for Impact
+
+What started as sprawling, hard-to-navigate global spreadsheets has become a
+**clean, trustworthy, and fully documented data foundation** that finally lets
+the real story of Haitian and Caribbean tourism emerge clearly.
+
+These datasets are now ready to power:  
+
+- Policy briefs and evidence-based recovery strategies for Haiti’s tourism sector
+- Academic research and economic impact studies  
+- Interactive dashboards and compelling data visualizations  
+- Regional benchmarking and competitiveness analyses  
+
+In just three transparent and reproducible notebooks, complex international
+statistics have been transformed into clear, actionable evidence.
+
+The numbers cleaned here are more than data points they are the solid
+groundwork for informed decisions that can help rebuild, reimagine,
+and revitalize tourism in Haiti and across the wider Caribbean.

3_data_exploration/README.md

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 # Data Exploration
+
+## Haiti Tourism: A Realistic Path Forward
+
+This project is built around one clear and hopeful idea:
+
+**Haiti can bring back millions of tourists and billions in revenue**
+ **while political and security challenges continue.**  
+Other Caribbean countries prove it every single day.
+
+### What the data show
+
+- From 2010 to 2018, Haiti went from under 400,000 to **over 1.25 million**
+  **visitors per year**(+300 %), despite the country still recovering
+  from the 2010 earthquake.
+- The secret? Two simple things that worked perfectly:
+  - The Haitian diaspora coming home to visit family
+  - The private, fully secured cruise enclave of **Labadee**
+   (almost 1 million passengers some years)
+- Then instability and the 2020 pandemic collapsed the numbers again
+- the proof is there: **when tourists feel safe, they come in huge numbers**.
+
+### Success stories next door (they didn’t wait for perfect peace)
+
+**Dominican Republic** - Poverty and crime in many zones **10+ million visitors**
+
+**Jamaica** - Well-known gang violence in Kingston & elsewhere **4+ million**
+**visitors & growing**
+
+Their recipe is simple and proven:  
+**Build and fiercely protect specific tourism zones**
+(all-inclusive resorts, private beaches, secure historic districts,
+fenced cruise ports). Tourists stay inside the “safe bubble” and never need
+ to see the challenges outside
+
+**Haiti is not just Port-au-Prince.**  
+Most of Haiti is naturally beautiful, culturally rich, and ready to welcome
+millions of tourists – we just need to protect and promote the right zones,
+exactly like Jamaica and the Dominican Republic do every day.
+
+They all use the same winning formula: **create safe tourism bubbles and let**
+**the rest of the country solve its problems later.**
+
+### Haiti Already Proved It Works (2010–2018)
+
+![Evolution of Tourism in Haiti 1995–2020](images/haiti_tourism_evolution_1995_2020.png)
+
+From <400k to **1.27 million visitors** in just eight years.  
+Key drivers: diaspora love + the 100 % secure Labadee cruise enclave
+(1 million passengers some years).
+
+### Haiti Is So Much More Than Port-au-Prince
+
+The capital has problems, but the rest of the country is full of world-class
+destinations that are calm, beautiful, and ready today:
+
+- **The Nord and Cap-Haïtien area** offer the UNESCO-listed Citadelle Laferrière,
+- miles of golden beaches, and the already-operating Labadee cruise port
+- with direct international flights landing minutes away.  
+- **Jacmel**, the Caribbean’s most charming bohemian town, is famous for
+its colorful art scene, yearly carnival, and the magical Bassins-Bleu waterfalls,
+ a short, securable drive from the capital.  
+- **The entire South – Les Cayes, Port-Salut, and Île-à-Vache** – boasts some
+of the most beautiful white-sand beaches in the entire region, crystal-clear water,
+fresh lobster on the beach, and a laid-back vibe
+that rivals anywhere in the Caribbean.  
+- **Côte des Arcadins**, only an hour north of Port-au-Prince, already has a string
+of beach resorts ready to reopen the moment safe access is guaranteed.
+- **Lavallée and the Central Plateau** hide spectacular waterfalls, rivers
+for rafting, cool mountain eco-lodges, and some of the best coffee in the hemisphere,
+perfect for nature and adventure lovers.
+These places already have everything tourists look for:  
+beaches • history • culture • mountains • waterfalls • warm people • delicious food
+
+They just need protected access and smart marketing.
+
+### The Proven Model – Copy & Paste Success
+
+1. **Secure tourism areas** (Cap-Haïtien → Labadee, Côte des Arcadins, Jacmel,
+Les Cayes–Port-Salut)  
+2. Dedicated police + private security (exactly like Jamaica’s Resilient Corridors)
+3. Reopen and expand cruise ports (Labadee is ready, Cap-Haïtien
+and a new southern port can open fast)  
+All-inclusive and diaspora-focused packages (“Fly in, stay safe, enjoy paradise”)
+Tell the true story: **Haiti’s beauty is alive outside the capital**
+
+### Economic Power Waiting to Be Unlocked
+
+- 2018 peak → ~US$700 million earned  
+- Dominican Republic today → **$10+ billion** per year with social vulnerability,
+random armed robberies, violent committed by motorcycle gangs.
+- Jamaica → **$4+ billion** per year with open security challenges  
+
+Every extra million tourists = tens of thousands of jobs in the Nord, Sud, Artibonite,
+ and beyond.
+
+### Final Message
+
+Haiti is not Port-au-Prince.  
+Haiti is Cap-Haïtien’s citadel at sunrise, Port-Salut’s white sand,
+Jacmel’s carnival spirit, Labadee’s turquoise water, and the warmth of its people.
+
+We have the beaches. We have the culture. We have the diaspora
+ready to come home.
+We already welcomed over a million visitors while rebuilding from an earthquake.
+
+All we need are secure paths and the guts to shout it from the rooftops:
+Haiti isn't broken-it's begging to be rediscovered.
+
+**Haiti is open. Haiti is beautiful. Haiti is ready.**