Higglers !!

[Highlander]

Marko..
As all the Boardie's and We have spent a lot of time in Negril over the years and love Jamaica and the Culture so much ...

As you say. I totally agree that the Criminal Element has gotten so Bad !! And my Wife and I were certainly affected this Last Trip personally.. That's another story..

Also Mi friends in Town say that that (The Rude Boys) come in from Far and Wide !! To exploit the Tourist's!!
As I said in my original post this needs to be addressed by the Local Town Government...

Negril need's more Police protecting The Locals and Tourist's Alike... If you have a Town or a Country that Tourism is the Main Source of Income ...
Shouldn't you protect it ????

As Outsider's.. It is so Sad to see it going this Way... I do hope that S.O.E. works and it can be Cleaned Up soon .. And bring some Order Back .. Just my Two Cents !!

[Rob]

yeah since mi spend most of mi time in Negril....and know the runnings better than some Jamaicans
mi can personally say that the begging and hard sell on foreigners has gotten worse.....even on the Cliffs
these people working you aren't usually from Negril.......they come as far as Kingston to try their luck....
there are 30% less Negril police compared to 15 years ago......and there should be least 30% more police
as far as the Tourist Police go.......dunno what has happened.....but they aren't hardly seen at all these days
wi all know about the crime problem now because of the State of Emergency.....
if mi was to say things have gotten out of control....
most locals and expats and frequent travelers would agree with mi
Respect

Cool Runnings, Marko

Marko...

I can understand where our Member of Parliament, Dr. Wykeham McNeil, is coming from. He is trying to get the government to pay for more constables for his constituency. Every MP is doing the exact same thing as numbers of police are down from 20 years ago in every precinct.

So in shear numbers of JCF, that sounds about right. But I do know that 20 years ago many officers were part time, having other jobs. I would be curious to see the number of hours worked per shift compared to 20 years ago. Productivity per officer has surely gone up. Twenty years ago there was virtually no transportation for the constables in Negril. Everything was done on foot. That is not true today.

As an expat... I don't agree with your last statement that "things have gotten out of control". In the 90's when the large tourist demand for cocaine came to the island, there were times when you couldn't walk up a lane on the West End without "paying a toll" to the strung out "stockies" at the beginning of each lane. Perhaps the ex-pats you are talking with have no knowledge of those times.

I find it interesting that you are making these claims. In another thread you state that the airport users fees and taxes are too high, and specifically "shouldn't be for Mobay airport". One of those fees is the TEF, the "Tourism Enhancement Fund". The sidewalk on the beach and beach patrol ATVs (to directly address problem higglers on the beach) were paid for by this fund. Future projects to be completed through the fees and taxes are increased lighting, security cameras, more policing, better roads, waste management and increased water supply and drainage.

I have had several friends comment to me about your statement that you "know the runnings better than some Jamaicans". I don't know how you can be so bold saying that as a visitor to Jamaica? I've been living here approaching 30 years now and would never make that claim.

I don't see how complaining that "things have gotten out of control" and yet not wanting to pay for it through fees and taxes such as the TEF is consistent with knowing the "runnings".

Just sharing my nearly 30 years of personal observations being an ex-pat...

[mwenvlay]

i have to agree with rob. i remember the cracked out 90s being much worse for crime and hassles in negril.

[JDd]

WTF are you talking white boi?

Cap

[mwenvlay]

WTF are you talking white boi?

Cap

ha!

marko be like

[Russ In Mn]

I knew our evening beach walks were over once I was told... "I can smell the suit case on you" by an aggressive higgler. Booked for our 17th year next Feb but starting to look at options.

[sunray]

The people giving trouble and stress to the tourists on the beach are not higglers. Higglers will offer some type of goods or service. (without hassle or intimidation). This does not include the low life types coming to Negril to extract money from tourists through intimidation, hassle or other untoward means. The powers that be, need to wake up to the fact that they are losing tourists and their revenue because they are not doing enough to keep tourists in a comfort zone. How many first time visitors will never return? How many long time visitors will retreat behind the AI walls, or just go to another destination that feels more comfortable to them? I am a long time visitor and over the last decade, when someone asks me if they should go to Jamaica I very much hesitate to say it is a good idea.
Look at how some of the small hotels on the south end of the beach struggle. there was a time these small hotels were thriving. Independent travellers aren’t arriving in the high numbers they once were.
The word is out on Jamaica, and sadly, by and large it is not good. Hurts me to say that!
Where is the 20 year old kid coming to Jamaica for the first time, falling in love with the island and returning 20, 30, 40 times more? Just not happening anymore, (witness the empty hotel rooms of the small hotels). We know why. Jamaica can be a scary place to the newcomer, and old timers adjust and move in smaller, more cautious circles. Many first timers are one and done. It is understandable that the AI hotels caution their guests about leaving the property.
More needs to done now!

[sunray]

Various Boardies challenge Marko because of some of the words he uses, but it doesn’t change the fact that he has captured in a first hand way the way it feels to him on the ground in Negril. He is a long time visitor and his message is things are worse, don’t think we can argue that. (Marko is not the bad guy, right?)
More needs to be done now.

[mwenvlay]

The people giving trouble and stress to the tourists on the beach are not higglers. Higglers will offer some type of goods or service. (without hassle or intimidation). This does not include the low life types coming to Negril to extract money from tourists through intimidation, hassle or other untoward means. The powers that be, need to wake up to the fact that they are losing tourists and their revenue because they are not doing enough to keep tourists in a comfort zone. How many first time visitors will never return? How many long time visitors will retreat behind the AI walls, or just go to another destination that feels more comfortable to them? I am a long time visitor and over the last decade, when someone asks me if they should go to Jamaica I very much hesitate to say it is a good idea.
Look at how some of the small hotels on the south end of the beach struggle. there was a time these small hotels were thriving. Independent travellers aren’t arriving in the high numbers they once were.
The word is out on Jamaica, and sadly, by and large it is not good. Hurts me to say that!
Where is the 20 year old kid coming to Jamaica for the first time, falling in love with the island and returning 20, 30, 40 times more? Just not happening anymore, (witness the empty hotel rooms of the small hotels). We know why. Jamaica can be a scary place to the newcomer, and old timers adjust and move in smaller, more cautious circles. Many first timers are one and done. It is understandable that the AI hotels caution their guests about leaving the property.
More needs to done now!

the powers that be need to start taking better care of their people and give them realistic career/livelihood options other than dealing with tourists. i find it sad that you think the government is failing because it's not finding a way to make tourists feel more comfortable. the government needs to make its people feel like they have a viable future in their own country.

that being said, i live in a neighborhood in nyc that's feeling the exact same squeeze of gentrification that negril is undergoing, and alternate between spending time in haiti (family) and jamaica (just like haiti but with a bit more infrastructure), so i may have a really different view of the situation that you do.

[sunray]

mwenvlay, Since this is a board related to Negril tourism, I tend to keep my contributions related to such. For the Jamaican government to provide more opportunity to the people of the nation requires money. A main source of revenue is the tourism industry. If the government wants to ‘big up’ the country, a great way to start is to protect the tourism industry, whether you find that sad or not.
And I find it hilarious that you believe that Negril is being gentrified, (much like your nyc neighbourhood). Negril was a small fishing village that morphed into a major tourism development decades ago. Sure doesn’t fit my understanding of gentrification.
Lose the tourists to government inaction on the problems of the day, then see the means the government would have to provide viable futures to the people. (apparently non tourist related would be your preference).