Bartlett preparing craft traders for changing market

[Jangle]

"We want to sensitise more so that people at all levels understand that this new tourism is [a] big trillion dollar business and more countries are now involved in tourism than ever. So the competition for the cruise and stopover people is greater now than it has ever been, and everybody is doing new, fresh things, so we have to do that, too, or else we're going to be left out," he said during last week's tour of the Harbour Street Craft Market in Montego Bay, St James

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/n...hanging-market

[OJ]

They should tabulate how many people go to craft markets.

[HL]

From my experience....JAMAICAN craft markets are not the most pleasant places to purchase stuff. Too many stalls selling the same things. Too many harbor sharks............

Hope this model is an improvement on the weaknesses.

[Assasin]

Real Habour Shark and the isles are small.
Hope Bartlett can make some changes as some of these markets have real potential.

Better training, better standard, better products and more tourist means possible a lot more money.

[Willi]

The problem is that our 'ticians are not good businessmen themselves and cant sell an idea.

If they had a think-tank to re-engineer this craft market approach and show the vendors who it means more revenue and more net income, then we would be cooking with gas!

[Sir X]

The craft vendors are complaing that Barlett has not met with them to get their input on the planning.

[Assasin]

Willi we a waste. The former craft market in downtown Kingston was maybe the best design and had more Jamaican products but it is closed or scale down.

Also I always say Cornation market was a seller for tourist to experience the best products. I hear there is a hotel who have a once a week trip to St.Anns Bay market. This needs to be encouraged.

[Jangle]

The craft market industry is a vital part to any tourism product. Tourists always want some memorabilia of the places that they visit. I see in the post below where Sass mentions a hotel shuttling guests to St. Ann’s Bay market. Yes, going to the local market is part of the tourist experience and the Coronation Market is Jamaica’s most famous market that can be added to the Kingston tourist product. Last year I visited Thailand and as part of an excursion, the group was taken to a local fruit market where the place was teeming with tourists. The world famous Pike Place Market in Seattle receives over 10 million visitors annually.