Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
Stakeholders are being urged to enhance the heritage tourism offerings in Montego Bay, St. James to tap into the market of 'freelance tourists' who visit the resort town.
Noting that freelance tourists, visitors who like to travel by themselves and explore instead of taking organised tours, account for approximately 50 per cent of cruise ship arrivals, businessman John Byles is calling for the creation of a Montego Bay Walk of Fame.
"We have street lights right across the Hip Strip, people are able to walk up and down the strip freely and have activities that they can do," said Mr. Byles, who also chairs the Montego Bay Cruise Shipping Committee.
"It is very similar to what happens on Bay Street in Nassau, the strip in Cancun and all these different areas. They (walks of fame) are proven, they work and they allow people to enjoy the island experience."
He was speaking at a Tourism Industry Stakeholders press conference at the Old Fort Craft Market in Montego Bay on Tuesday.
Further stating that there are severely underutilised historical sites that could enhance the Second City's tourism product, Mr. Byles suggested that the walk of fame could be extended from the strip into the craft markets.
Best of everything
"We can offer right now on the Hip Strip, Doctor's Cave, which has its own history and is one of the best beaches in the Caribbean ... we have Casa Blanca, one of the first hotels in Montego Bay. In the 1500s we had a Jewish settlement here and we have the Jewish cemetery that is on the roadside along the Hip Strip," he commented.
"Within that there is also the craft market, we have the Old Fort which offers a history that cannot be reproduced anywhere and we have the Harbour Street craft market, which has developed a whole cultural experience."