Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writer
Craft vendor Melody Haughton - PHOTO BY HERBERT MCKENIS
SOME CRAFT vendors in Montego Bay are threatening to take action against what they feel is sabotage, that has caused a sharp fall in the number of visiting tourists.
"If the craft market is going to be sabotaged, we will not sit down and take it come next season. Business will not run so smoothly," president of the Harbour Street Craft Market Association, Melody Haughton, says.
She says business is virtually non-existent in the market because no tourists visit the area. She blames government and the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) for the lack of business in the market.
"Business comes and goes to those who are paying the bucks," she says. As well, the visitors are being directed to other markets and gift shops in Montego Bay, particularly the Old Fort Craft Market, instead of Harbour Street.
Ms. Haughton claims that the Old Fort is being promoted on cruise ships in preference to the Harbour Street market. According to its website, the FCCA works with governments, ports and all private sector representatives to maximise cruise passenger, cruise line and cruise line employee spending, while working to enhance the destination experience and the number of cruise passengers returning as long-stay visitors.
BENEFITS
But head of the Old Fort market, Marilyn Falconer, says it is merely benefiting from a US$5900 advertisement it placed in the cruise association's magazine. As an incentive the market is promoted by word of mouth to cruise ship passengers.
"It is who has the most money that always gets the advantage," Ms. Falconer says. Consequentially, business at the Old Fort is going well, though not as well as Ms. Falconer would like.
"We are getting business on ship days and we have seen an increase. Sometimes as many as two buses [of tourists] come on a ship day," she says. The market houses some 151 vendors.
Vendors at the Fantasy Island Craft Market are almost in the same position as those at Harbour Street. Head of that market, Alicia Lawrence, says the market only gets a handful of the visitors that come on ship days. She says most of the visitors tend to be taken to gift shops in hotels.
Complaints of sabotage have been a common cry among Montego Bay craft vendors for the past few years. In 2002, many vendors voiced strong opposition against what they said was a practice by tour bus operators of by-passing local craft markets and taking visitors to in-bond merchants on hotel properties. Some even accused in-bond merchants of bribing tour bus drivers to take visitors to their shops.
But many hotels have downplayed the accusations of vendors and have criticised them for the lack of variety in their products. A decrease in the number of cruise ships arriving and simultaneous growth of craft vending over the last few years is also said to be contributing to the problem.
The downturn in business has forced the closure of some shops in the Harbour Street market over the last few years Ms. Haughton explains. She says because business is so slow, many vendors are unable to pay rent. The vendors owe some $1 million in rent to the St. James Parish Council though the rent is only $1,300 dollars per month.
"All who can't pay the rent jus a lock up from now," she says.
To add to their misery, vendors in Harbour Street have to deal with poor facilities, particularly with leaky roofs. Ms. Haughton says over 90 per cent of the shop roofs in the markets are leaking.
"When they (tourists) are on the ship they tell them not to come to Harbour Street because the roof 'dem rusty," Ms. Haughton alleges. "I want to know why they trying to sabotage us."
She says the sector needs more government support and proposes that regulations be put in place to make visits to the local craft markets a mandatory part of the tourist's visit to the island.
"How can they expect us to pay rent if we not getting any business," she says.
She notes that so far support has only come from the Tourism Development Company (TPDCO) who offers the vendors training at discounted rates and inspects goods and market conditions regularly.
Ms. Lawrence says there is barely any support to ease the pressure, as the market is privately owned and support only comes from the private sector.
Efforts to contact officials at the tourist board and TPDCO were futile up to press time.
