Harassment

[HarryS]

It amazes me the different responses to this thread, from "I never get bothered" to "It's fun!" to "It's just a few bad apples"... and then there's the people who just feel completely harassed the second they walk on the beach.

I personally don't mind it much, my wife on the other hand...

It's not the sales tactics, it's the aggressive way some of them act... I've watched a man take my wife's hand, and not let go and grab harder while she's pulling away, and I've had to say something. That should NEVER happen.

I've been threatened with violence on the cliff road by a man trying to sell me weed. No didn't work, so he started following us, scaring the **** out of my wife, saying he was going to fight us. It wasn't until some vendors stepped in that he stopped, and my wife was too scared to walk back so we waited with the vendor in her shack until a taxi came by.

It's been bad enough that our upcoming trip may be our last to Negril if it's bad again. I didn't realize how uncomfortable it made my wife, so I kept pushing to come back, and making all the travel arrangements. I won't do it again if she tells me she's uncomfortable this time.

Anyone who says it's no big deal has no idea the damage these guys do to tourism. Sure, you guys all keep coming back, but I would LOVE to see the percentage of people who come once, don't stay at an AI, and refuse to come back a second time. I bet it's not a small number.

She was advised by her therapist (yes, this was serious enough that it comes up in her therapy - turns out she goes with me to Negril because she doesn't want to let me down, and now she has spoken up!) that if anyone approaches and makes her uncomfortable, she should yell NO! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE! as soon as she feels uncomfortable. Because I'm afraid that will just make the situation worse, I expect to spend less time wandering the beach and cliffs, spending money at restaurants and bars, and spending the majority of the time just hanging at the hotel.

That's $$$ that will not be spread around Negril. And it happens at the AIs. Tourists spend all their money there, little to none of it stays in JA, and are afraid to leave the safety of the resort.

The hustlers are a tremendous problem in Negril, and to say it's not is not being honest.

[Accompong]

It is hard to convince the everyday Jamaican that being nice and not pushy will get you more over time than aggressive tactics. Kind of like new and used car salesmen and telemarketers, if you score once out of ten tries you are successful. When people are poor and their bellies are not full they are acting more out of desperation.

You don't find this attitude as much out on the island away from tourist destinations even though they are just as hungry and just as poor.

[Flipadelphia26]

It amazes me the different responses to this thread, from "I never get bothered" to "It's fun!" to "It's just a few bad apples"... and then there's the people who just feel completely harassed the second they walk on the beach.

I personally don't mind it much, my wife on the other hand...

It's not the sales tactics, it's the aggressive way some of them act... I've watched a man take my wife's hand, and not let go and grab harder while she's pulling away, and I've had to say something. That should NEVER happen.

I've been threatened with violence on the cliff road by a man trying to sell me weed. No didn't work, so he started following us, scaring the **** out of my wife, saying he was going to fight us. It wasn't until some vendors stepped in that he stopped, and my wife was too scared to walk back so we waited with the vendor in her shack until a taxi came by.

It's been bad enough that our upcoming trip may be our last to Negril if it's bad again. I didn't realize how uncomfortable it made my wife, so I kept pushing to come back, and making all the travel arrangements. I won't do it again if she tells me she's uncomfortable this time.

Anyone who says it's no big deal has no idea the damage these guys do to tourism. Sure, you guys all keep coming back, but I would LOVE to see the percentage of people who come once, don't stay at an AI, and refuse to come back a second time. I bet it's not a small number.

She was advised by her therapist (yes, this was serious enough that it comes up in her therapy - turns out she goes with me to Negril because she doesn't want to let me down, and now she has spoken up!) that if anyone approaches and makes her uncomfortable, she should yell NO! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE! as soon as she feels uncomfortable. Because I'm afraid that will just make the situation worse, I expect to spend less time wandering the beach and cliffs, spending money at restaurants and bars, and spending the majority of the time just hanging at the hotel.

That's $$$ that will not be spread around Negril. And it happens at the AIs. Tourists spend all their money there, little to none of it stays in JA, and are afraid to leave the safety of the resort.

The hustlers are a tremendous problem in Negril, and to say it's not is not being honest.

To clarify.... Your wife needed therapy because of Negril Hustlers, or because you and her are not communicating clearly?


Also, I agree. You should not go on VACATION, somewhere you don't enjoy.

[Slightly Stoopid]

We toured Kingston ... IE - Trenchtown ..on our last trip ..& were not approched once
I do take down certain ..items - ballcaps , hotwheels & other small gifts ...
I think the Bob Marley tattoo ..let's the hustlers know ..that we are not newbies
Never been to an AI , but, there are many who
Will ONLY stay @ AI's because of the aggresive nature of some vendors

[Flipadelphia26]

We toured Kingston ... IE - Trenchtown ..on our last trip ..& were not approched once
I do take down certain ..items - ballcaps , hotwheels & other small gifts ...
I think the Bob Marley tattoo ..let's the hustlers know ..that we are not newbies
Never been to an AI , but, there are many who
Will ONLY stay @ AI's because of the aggresive nature of some vendors

Definitely. It's not for everyone. I look at the hustlers as part of the landscape. I love visiting NYC, but I hate the traffic and loud noise associated with it. I deal with it though, because there's so much else to offer.

[MikeyNYC]

We toured Kingston ... IE - Trenchtown ..on our last trip ..& were not approched once
I do take down certain ..items - ballcaps , hotwheels & other small gifts ...
I think the Bob Marley tattoo ..let's the hustlers know ..that we are not newbies
Never been to an AI , but, there are many who
Will ONLY stay @ AI's because of the aggresive nature of some vendors

Not to make it personal, but I doubt any locals care about the tattoo, or that it in itself shapes their opinion, but rather, it changes/changed your demeanor and they vibe off of that.

[MikeyNYC]

She was advised by her therapist (yes, this was serious enough that it comes up in her therapy - turns out she goes with me to Negril because she doesn't want to let me down, and now she has spoken up!) that if anyone approaches and makes her uncomfortable, she should yell NO! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE! as soon as she feels uncomfortable. Because I'm afraid that will just make the situation worse, I expect to spend less time wandering the beach and cliffs, spending money at restaurants and bars, and spending the majority of the time just hanging at the hotel.

That's $$$ that will not be spread around Negril. And it happens at the AIs. Tourists spend all their money there, little to none of it stays in JA, and are afraid to leave the safety of the resort.

The hustlers are a tremendous problem in Negril, and to say it's not is not being honest.

You're not wrong and I do agree with some of what you've said, but I've seen women and slight men yell at first approach...It's not a good look. I get quite embarressed for them. Has her shrink ever been there? If not, it might not be the best advice to follow.

[captaind & Linston]

I'm absolutely convinced that body language and demeanor are the triggers for approach by an aggressive vendor.

Several times I've had one walk up to me and the first thing said was "you live here?"

Jamaicans are experts at reading a vibe.

Cap

[Lola]

The first couple times I went to Jamaica I felt somewhat nervous and uncomfortable ~ I wasn't used to people so outgoing, striking up conversations, asking direct questions (that I wasn't as prepared to answer as they were in asking).

The first day I felt maybe we should have ONE person as our go-to resource/verification person, otherwise we'd be like Ping-Pong balls being called this way and that. By evening we'd met someone that felt comfortable and no pressure. We didn't tell him that's what we were going to use him for, we just stopped by for a daily visit and then went on our way. We wanted to do a road trip so we asked him to find a driver and invited him to come along with us. The next year we looked for him and continued the same way.

He's always been the same as our first impression so we stuck with him .... 14 years and countless trips

[Slightly Stoopid]

Not to make it personal, but I doubt any locals care about the tattoo, or that it in itself shapes their opinion, but rather, it changes/changed your demeanor and they vibe off of that.

No problem ... nothing personal taken
& Yes, I totally agree - it's all about the vibe -