Negril tourism workers’ safety a concern for Wallace
Published:Thursday | September 15, 2022 | 12:06 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
RICHARD WALLACE, president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, is concerned about the safety of tourism workers amid an increase in criminal activity in the resort town.
He says that Negril’s crime scourge is not directed at tourists.
“If you follow the crime committed in Negril, the crime is not really targeted to tourists; it is not. Crime against tourists in Negril, it is the same as anywhere else in the world. But we are concerned about the Jamaicans, because we have 12,000 workers [who] work directly in the tourist industry in Negril,” Wallace explained.
“The workers are the ones who are at risk. They are the ones who are travelling on shifts different times of the night and day to get home and to go to work, so we are very concerned about them,” he added.
Some 103 murders have been reportedly committed in Westmoreland since the start of the year.
He says the police are at a disadvantage due to the lack of resources.
“We are concerned. As a matter of fact, we had a meeting last week with Senior Superintendent of Police Wayne Joseph, who is in charge of the Westmoreland police, and we discussed ways that we can help the police as a chamber,” said Wallace.
He says the group is also seeking to have dialogue with the minister of national security and the commissioner of police, and that a follow-up meeting is to be held with the police to identify and develop a needs list for the Negril Police Station.
The chamber boss says the ongoing crime problem could also negatively impact the marketability of the resort town, and urges the Government to invest in the safety of Negril.
He says this is important for safeguarding the island’s tourism product, pointing to reports by the Ministry of Tourism that show that Negril has already generated significant income for the fast-recovering tourism industry since the start of the year.
“Not that we think that we (in Negril) are special, or that we are better than anyone else in Jamaica (who) is facing crime. But as you know, if you have a revenue stream, you have to protect it, because if we stop earning those US$1 billion, then it is only going to make matters worse,” argued Wallace.