Denise Reid, Staff Reporter

A major security company has been enlisted to patrol all of Jamaica's resort towns, effective December 1, to stem rampant tourist harassment that continues to damage the island's image and threaten the lifeblood of the economy.

President of the National Cruise Council of Jamaica, John Byles, said last Tuesday that the Association of Jamaica Attractions Limited, National Cruise Council of Jamaica, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association and the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) have committed US$1.2 million (J$9.2 million) to a project aimed at getting rid of the problem.

Byles' comments came during a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the newspaper's Western Bureau offices in Montego Bay, St James.

"We are collectively, with the government agencies, coming together to put a plan forward that can try and deal with the situation once and for all," he said.

Another obstacle

An image deficit at this time is yet another obstacle the Caribbean country can scarcely afford. Projections suggest Jamaica may have a soft winter tourist season, which kicks off officially on December 15. Many foreigners are expected to hold back on luxuries such as international travel as the global economic slowdown continues to threaten jobs, retail sales, access to credit and mortgages.

At the Editors' Forum, Josef Forstmayr, managing director of the Round Hill Hotel and Villas, pointed to examples of guests being insulted and labelled as racist when they refuse to travel with strangers. Craft market vendors who aggressively try to get tourists to buy their goods are also ruining visitors' shopping experience, leaving them feeling threatened and unsafe.

Visitors have complained about these unpleasant encounters in the past. In a Gleaner article published in 2001, it was reported that cruise lines had sent local tour companies copies of passengers' comments. Among the complaints were constant insults and repeated offers of drugs and prostitution.

Tourist harassment has plagued the industry for decades while the Government, resort towns and travel interests have tried various methods of curbing the problem.

Historical strategies

In the 1960s, the courtesy corps was introduced as an initiative of the Jamaica Tourist Board. The resort patrol, which mirrored the courtesy corps, was introduced in 1993. However, financial constraints led to the discontinuation of such programmes.

Additionally, the Jamaica Tourist Board and resort towns have engineered various schemes to address the problem.

However, the efforts have not had a long-lasting effect. At least four cruise lines have removed their ships from Jamaica as a port of call because of visitor harassment.

Lennie Little-White, executive chairman of Outameni Experience, a heritage tour sited in Trelawny, suggested that the Government needs to launch a massive public education exercise to combat the growing crisis.

The latest project, coined the Jamaica Tourism Courtesy Corps, is sponsored by the TEF and will be managed by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo).

Executive director of the TEF, Ian Neita, explained that more than 80 personnel from Marksman Limited will form the corps. The uniformed force will provide safety and security to visitors who want to engage in activities such as sightseeing or shopping. While they will not have the power to charge persons, they will have power of detention.

Neita is upbeat about the initiative.

"I think it will really make a difference to the experience of the visitors to the country because there'll be someone there for them to approach to ask a question and, secondly, it should be a deterrent to the unsolicited kind of approaches that we have on our streets from time to time."

denise.reid@gleanerjm.com