No Reason to Panic, but this should be addressed...

[Jahansen]

I was astounded when I read this piece in USAToday. Not because there was violence, but because of the attitude of Jamaican police and specific resorts (especially the pretty expensive Sandals chain). They can't possibly benefit from the from ignoring the impact on tourism. Yes, my wife and I are still headed to Negril in January, but I find it amazing that Jamaica is now considered less safe than Mexico where there have been some pretty nasty incidents.

Jamaica needs to clean this up immediately if they expect to be a prime location in the Caribbean. Fix it...don't brush it under the rug or your economic future as a tourist destination is doomed. This is especially true of Sandals.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...lt/1816675002/

[GuitarGuy]

Already replied but message seems to be gone. Anyway, Had a friend who went for a week and never returned. R.I.P. It's a bit more dangerous than the old days. Where there's coca there's guns. It's not just Jamaica but spreading thru the Caribbean. They just happen to be the 'hub' or the man in the middle. Sad but true. Big Corporate resorts are buying the lives of Jamaicans when they think they're gonna make jobs for them. It's a sell out and a poor societal issue. Easy money is winning over ethics. Corruption.

[GuitarGuy]

But still love the Island.

[Marko]

Wow this is certainly not good for Tourism in Jamaica.....this is really bad
already a USA Travel Advisory to certain parts of Mobay and Kingston...
and with mi living most of mi time in Negril mi can say a lot of bad stuff that happens here is never broadcast to the general public
be safe everyone........

Cool Runnings, Marko

[Irine]

We took our twenty something boys with us last winter. I only had one rule; The girls (their girl friends) go nowhere alone. Not for ice, not back to the room from the pool, not to the bathroom, nowhere. That doesn't always guarantee safety, but it goes a long ways.

[Rob]

The first responses are coming in from the Jamaican government...

In the statement from Jamaica's tourism ministry, it said, "Jamaica prides itself in our record of being hospitable to over 20 million tourists who have visited over the past seven years. Jamaica also has a world leading and very high repeat visitor rate of 42 per cent, with an extremely low rate of crime against our visitors."

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/l...lt-us-tourists

http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/u...amaican-hotels

[ukran1ans]

We took our twenty something boys with us last winter. I only had one rule; The girls (their girl friends) go nowhere alone. Not for ice, not back to the room from the pool, not to the bathroom, nowhere. That doesn't always guarantee safety, but it goes a long ways.

Last Feb My oldest daughter, her GF and my grandson came to Negril and stayed at Whitesands a few days before I came down. I basically told them to head north for dinner (towards Chances, Coco Lapalm...etc) at night til I showed up and it seemed fine. As for the assaults at the hotel, I guess that anything is possible but the staff at White Sands have been there so long with their family atmosphere it's hard for me to ever imagine anything like that happening there.

[Rob]

Jahansen,

I noticed your comment, "but I find it amazing that Jamaica is now considered less safe than Mexico where there have been some pretty nasty incidents", and cannot find anything in the article stating that nor after searching Mexican crime stats.

Could you please let us know where this info comes from?

Thanks.

[Irine]

Just to clarify; I stay at white sands because we feel safe there, and I know many places along the beach where I have great vibes about staying and safety. My comments about never leaving the girls alone is more directed to being out on the beach and around Negril on tours or just hanging out. My wife knows no matter where she goes on the beach I have eyes on her, and that I'm standing outside the bathroom when we are out and about. Having said that we have never felt unsafe anywhere in Jamaica, and I also practice the same personal safety habits in Florida, or the Bahamas or anywhere we go that isn't home.

Last Feb My oldest daughter, her GF and my grandson came to Negril and stayed at Whitesands a few days before I came down. I basically told them to head north for dinner (towards Chances, Coco Lapalm...etc) at night til I showed up and it seemed fine. As for the assaults at the hotel, I guess that anything is possible but the staff at White Sands have been there so long with their family atmosphere it's hard for me to ever imagine anything like that happening there.

[davevols]

The article doesn’t mention what percentage of these attacks are by other guests, I am guessing that they make up the majority. A quick web search also showed that cruise ships originating from the US have a much higher number of sexual assault and rape cases than Jamaica has.

There is never an excuse for such a terrible crime, but where there are people and large amounts of alcohol together I think this will always be an issue.