Quote Originally Posted by johng View Post
JohnNYC,
Nice trip report and glad you had a great trip. I agree with you 100% the wages that Jamaicans are paid is very sad. I used the "Red Stripe Comparison" only as a context. So If a Jamaican worker earns $50 USD in a week he could buy 10 Red Stripes at Tony's. 10 beers for 40 hours of work often times hard labor of some sort. Yes I'm sure that there are instances in the world where is is even worse but Jamaica is where we, who post on this board, Love!!!
Johng,

I can say confidentiality that no Jamaican earning minimum wage will purchase a beer for us$5. That is why I stated that Tony was no longer interested in the local business and will focus on his tourism business.

Being in my position, I have to visit tourism establishments often and I never see other locals at these establishments without a tourist host. The locals simply can't afford it. Even a j$500 Red Stripe is tough to swallow (pun intended).

Drifters has a unique deal. They have the regular 341ml stubby bottle Red Stripe for j$500. But they offer the weird "tall" 250ml bottle for j$250. That makes it possible for some locals to actually buy their own beer at Drifters and enjoy it for themselves.

One of the reasons Red Dragon is so popular is that locals and tourists can mix in the same establishment and our visitors get to mix with Jamaicans on an equal footing.

The us$5 places will make their money but I think an essential feature of Negril may be lost without the local perspective (other than the bartender).

But there are PLENTY local bars to visit not on the beach.