The herbmen hustling is no problem. If I'm not in need I just try to sell them what I have and they move on.
The real shame for us is the craft market. We would love to shop there but it just isn't worth the hassle. Instead we try to avoid any areas with a concentration of vendors.
There's also many times I opt to take cabs when I could walk just because I don't feel like being bothered and just want to get where we are going. But for some even getting a cab can be intimidating.
I only felt harassed once and even then I didn't feel threatened but was glad it was our last day and wouldn't be seeing that guy again anytime soon. There was one other time that I wasn't sure what was going to happen next but my friend quickly ran the guy off and that was the end of that.
We spent some time in Sav last trip and not one person approached us.
For new visitors it can be intimidating just trying to leave the airport to catch your ride and the cruise ship ports in Jamaica have a reputation for not being the most tourist friendly. These "first impression areas" should be the main focus of any education efforts. But doing so would be difficult without running out the little guy. It would take years before vendors would see increased traffic and sales from not being so aggressive. That's understandably too long for most vendors. What would really be needed is some sort of incentive or subsidy to offset losses while trying to rebuild the bad reputation. I don't see that happening.
