By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
KEY PLAYERS in the tourism industry have set in motion a plan-of-action for overhauling and improving the profitability of craft markets in Montego Bay, St. James. December 1 is the deadline for implementation of the plan.
Two committees have also been established to spearhead improvement for those facilities.
Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook chairs one of the committees, while the other is headed by Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Noel Donaldson.
Dr. Wykeham McNeill, State Minister for Tourism, said the committee, led by Mayor Donaldson, will be meeting on a weekly basis and will interact directly with the traders, with the aim of improving the physical layout of the craft markets. Other members of the committee include: Michael Muirhead, of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo); Melody Haughton, President of the Harbour Street Craft Market Association and Deputy Superintendent of Police Rudolph Taylor.
CLEAN-UP
"First of all, we are going to look at infrastructure and what we are hoping to do in the short-term is do the quick fix, cleaning up whatever needs to be done very quickly - maybe some painting and that sort of thing. We intend to have that done by December 1st," Mr. McNeill told journalists.
Meanwhile, forging an effective international marketing programme for the craft traders in St. James is to be the major thrust of the committee.
The Junior Minister last week outlined a four-pronged approach which would inform the implementation of the rehabilitation scheme for the craft markets in the 'second city'. He was at pains to point out that more emphasis would be placed on the Harbour Street Craft Market, which has been suffering the greatest from lack of business .
LICENSED
"We are going to encourage everybody to be TPDCo-trained and have their licences and, as of December 1, we will be ensuring that those persons in the craft markets who are not licensed will not be trading," maintained Dr. McNeill. He explained that in order to improve diversity in the products offered at the markets, artists will be exposed to training.
Mr. McNeill was responding to questions following a closed-door meeting with major players in the tourism industry. The meeting was aimed at formulating solutions for correcting the problems affecting craft traders in Montego Bay.
The meeting came on the heels of last Wednesday's demonstration, which was staged by scores of craft traders in Montego Bay, who vented their disgust over sluggish sales. The craft vendors claimed that for several weeks now tour buses have been ignoring the craft markets, as they shuttle tourists from the cruise ships to the Inbound shops.
