Do you want to report "Do Jamaicans resent tourists?"
Just curious as I read on here a while back that “Jamaica has enough tourists”
They want thier land back. I think it’s only been a little over a 100 years ago I think it was in 1889. we put their Queen in jail. Took the land. King Kamehameha. Dude was massive. He was the 1st ever to join all the islands together. Then Mr. Captain John hook showed up. They ended up eating his ass. I lived there for 20 years teens and twenties. And they are not happy about it. Here is a beautiful song. It tells the story. The brahdahs be hey! Haole u maybe white but you Hawaiian at heart. Always made me feel good. I Love and miss my Hawaiian brahdahs. I miss the surfing and the food. Enjoy some good local Hawaiian reggae telling a storyhttps://youtu.be/IFHJp36lL3c
Hawaii is apart of the U.S and according to Google the typical person earns $94k/year, comparing Hawaii to Jamaica is just utterly ridiculous.
Without tourism many would starve in Jamaica, nobody is starving in Hawaii without tourism + they have the opportunity to move to a different state in the U.S.
To be clear tourists provide about 8% of our Actual GDP, tourism is great and exposes our culture which we love. The Jamaican diaspora provides more revenue than tourists so it’s not about money it’s about relationships.
Reddit is not the best place for this. Half this subreddit is North Americans who have visited Jamaica once and Sandals at that. The long and short is Jamaica is a hand to mouth economy (for most) that relies on jobs like tourism to make more than they would selling wares in town. That said, it doesn’t take a lot of thought or a long history lesson to learn why Jamaican, and many other developing nations, are poised to only ever be, just that. A “lovely” country for North Americans to visit. And I say that as a yank with Jamaican parents who have thrived in America. It’s just to big and encompassing a question to ask on Reddit tbh. You’re gonna get a lot of half answers and irrelevant people chirping in without pointing out the much needed nuance and complexities of the problem because all they know is “yeah mon, irie” and happen to like jerk when they tried it. My suggestion? If you’re truly serious, go. Travel and spend time with everyday Jamaicans and ask them this question. You will get a plethora of real answers and not armchair thoughts.
But seriously, tourism is bad for the environment. The same environment those Jamaicans working at the resort live in. But not only that, It’s bad for the longevity of Jamaican people. It is only a good thing because it’s better than the current status quo. If you point to a closed loop system of making cents vs dollars - of course one obviously looks great! But we’re ignoring the greater context of the human scale of development for Jamaicans - again, tourism contributes nothing to the way of this. It’s just a means to get by.
Am I saying don’t visit Jamaica? No. But don’t be so naive as to think you’re helping or doing anybody and real favors by visiting a resort. You’d be better off staying somewhere local and tipping heavily, at least the Jamaicans that need it will see it, and not into the cold clammy hands of a resort owner, that at best, will give out book bags and bully beef for PR to some local parish school, whereas if more people went the local route, we’d have more money in our communities, none of the trickle down nonsense so many nations push, Jamaica included ( Sandal and Friends tm. tourism in this case). If this is all flying over your head, that’s the point. Y’all have nerve lol - and the fact that you don’t understand why, is part of the irony.
It really depends. Most Jamaicas don’t really care or think of tourist because we rarely interact with them. The only thing I will say is that tourist need to be mindful to research a country before coming there. There are a lot of cases of tourist sexually harassing locals like expecting paid sex etc. I had a man try to solicit from me when I was in high school (obviously underaged) walking on the hip strip with my bff. Some are very gross and Ill mannered. There was a case years ago where a tourist called a hotel worker the n word. All the staff came together to chop him up like chicken parts. They had to call the police and put him on plane back to America right away. Another case of a hotel that told a guy that they didn’t want black people in their pool and it was whites only. That hotel got burnt to the ground the same week. While African American may protest when it comes to racism jamaican does not play with these things they will set you ablaze. Respect is very important.
No, because its creates jobs for many and brings in money for the island and most importantly gives people from all over the world to see the most beautiful place on Earth
No, I stay in Half Way Ttee, family all from there, so not like tourists are taking over there.
If anything, Jamaica is missing out on having more tourist hot spots. Port Royal for example has so much more potential than what it currently is.
Victoria Park near downtown should be a nice and a great spot just like Emancipation Park is also
Ok. I would agree.
I was actually planning a trip to the western part of the island. Few tourists there.
I want to see crocs.
I also want to check out maroon town.
Looked as small hotels, etc.
Isnt port royal basically right by Kingston?
Edit: why is this downvoted? Should I not go to the western part of the island?
They seem to hate the returnees, i.e. those born abroad to Jamaican parents (or grandparents), but will treat a typical white tourist with the utmost respect, the type who thinks the jerk chicken in an all-inclusive is the best thing since sliced hard dough bread.
This is the shared experience of everybody around me, so not just mine.
I’m sorry my grandparents had the foresight to “move ah foreign”. However, I’m broke just like you mate.
Now, may the down votes commence.
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I understand what you’re saying but, I think that is so because returnees mostly expect a bad outcome when travelling back and if it does happen, they blame the whole country for that one bad experience i.e. “Jamaica is so backwards” because they had to wait in the customs line a little longer than usual or because someone is showing them too much ‘attitude’… That one experience or that one person isn’t all of Jamaica so…
Not a problem. You’re entitled to your own opinion so, I’m not gonna be a bitch about it.. But I’ve heard a lot of people blame the country for even a mosquito biting them 😂.
Hospitable people are rare though because most Jamaicans are miserable with their own lives so, they definitely won’t care enough to cater to the needs of an international.
Ah easy solution - take a shot of gin first thing and the mini vampires won’t trouble you.
That’s the thing, I’m not asking for people to go out of their way, just treat me like a regular person….a regular person who may not be able to heat their home come winter time 😂…think I should go out there for the winter.
I’ve discovered alcohol isn’t for me so I’ll kindly stick to catching them with my own hands 😂.
People think being nice is going to cost them an arm and a leg when all it is is to say good morning, or hold the door open for someone or to keep their mouth closed about someone else’s appearance. If people would simply shut up and listen most times, the world would be just a little bit better.
Most Jamaicans don’t care about tourists.
The rest just want to take advantage of them if possible.
Theres no resent…. Maybe a little jealousy that you get to come here and enjoy the little that’s left for us to enjoy publicly and then go back to a country with some sense of safety and good governance… even if that’s not entirely true in foreign countries.
Honestly, it’s a small amount of us. From what I’ve seen, most Jamaicans (excluding me) think tourists are not only a waste of space but constantly take their jobs. But majority of us love having tourists here for many reasons and will gladly welcome any tourists!
Tourist here! I stayed in Jamaica for 6 weeks. I lived in Red Ground Road in St. Catherine for a bit and we traveled to Ocho Rios and other places. They hated me! Every single female either wanted to fight me or over charge me. I stopped speaking in english and only spoke in spanish. They over charge you even exchaging your currency at the airport! so yea the men were nice though, they didnt have the same energy, they kept calling me “fluffy” 😂.
Just to clarify I’m not Jamaican. I think some people are missing what I assume is the point of the question. I think in many places throughout the world which are travel destinations, tourism brings a lot of duffers, dilutes the culture into cheap commodifiable gimmicks, and is possibly bad for the ecology and local culture, and so on. I don’t like the touristy culture of Cannon Beach out here in Oregon, even though technically I am a tourist when I visit that town.
Whereas in a place like Jamaica you see that tourism is tied in with an overall colonialism the island has faced ever since Europeans invaded and introduced slavery. And now we have cruise ships and resort hotels which have ecological and social implications beyond tourism as a source of income for a number of Jamaicans. But the economy was not what your question was addressing I am assuming.
In this capitalistic world traveling can often be a voyeuristic, disconnected and consumerist activity.
But I live in Portland (Oregon) and I am always friendly to visitors and it’s a small source of pride to know that people from all over the world are interested in your homeland and that people genuinely dig your culture.
me personally, yes but i’m general i think there’s a level of indifference. It’s very very important to our economy but I wouldn’t say we “love tourists” or “ hate tourists”. It’s more of an it is what it is.
Jamaicans are generally warm and welcoming people. They love the entertain stranger and show them a good time. Tourists are likely to get better treatment in Jamaica than Jamaicans living there. In some resorts, staff will go beyond their duty to make sure tourists are comfortable while they would be indifferent to locals staying there. They do this because tourists tip better than locals or they think Jamaicans dont have money to tip them.
Jamaicans are generally warm and welcoming people. They love the entertain stranger and show them a good time. Tourists are likely to get better treatment in Jamaica than Jamaicans living there. In some resorts, staff will go beyond their duty to make sure tourists are comfortable while they would be indifferent to locals staying there. They do this because tourists tip better than locals or think Jamaicans dont have money to tip them. This article paints a picture of what life is like on the island; it might give some clarity.
Depends on where you are and how you act. Many American tourists are ‘Karens’, loud, insulting, demanding, as if they deserve deference. Some are nice. The Karens get one treatment, the nice another.
Jamaica gets most of its money from money sent abroad. Family members sending money and receiving aid from countries.
Having a job in Jamaica, is probably the 3rd or 4th on the list of ways to earn income.
Jamaicans hate the fact that they can’t get no benefits at working at a hotel cause they never give staff to people. Only 3 to 6 months contracts. It’s very demeaning being told to clean 8 bathrooms a days and spread and clean 16 beds a day and wear a big “You don’t have to tip us, ITS ON THE HOUSE” pin.
Jamaicans resent hearing about 1000 new jobs being created everytime a hotel open when those jobs only pay you enough to come back to work. Jamaicans see the thousands of tourist that flock here for carnivals, ATI and summer and the only people that make a money out of are Redstripe and digicel.
I have a aunt who tried renting a tent so she and her husband could sell food at sumfest. They told them 70k a night. Yet digicel, copperwood pork and grace didn’t have to pay until after they made money.Why is a phone company at the greatest reggae show on earth? Cause people want to spend money to go to a party so then can spend money on buying a Sim card?
The corporations and government have come together to skim every bit of profit and benefit that would help the country prosper and that’s why it might seem like a Jamaican resent a tourist.
look at moca fest keeping a party in the heights of covid and telling locals them not invited but they had to hire a local staff to keep a event. Then when they were contacted by government officials about the Covid super spreader they tried to lock up the bar manager as the actual owner s of Rock Cafe and mocafest were abroad ignoring their calls.
Jamaicans resent the tourism industry not tourist
Considering it made major news headlines everywhere..I’m just a bit baffled how you didn’t hear about him travelling to Japan, disrespecting the people and the culture then proceeding to film a victim of a tragic mental illness event in a known site for that to happen.
All in all, just be respectful to be honest. And the “Jamaican me crazy” thing also tends to drive me up the wall; can’t imagine what it’s like for family back home lol
