Craft vendors in Port Royal are still reluctant to get vaccinated. For them, vaccination does not guarantee sales. Tourists will not be allowed to walk to the town, in an effort to protect themselves as well as the residents. This will result in them losing out on earnings.

 

Craft vendors refuse jabs despite risk of no cruise biz

3 Nov 2021/Ainsworth Morris

 

DESPITE THE Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) warning that only vaccinated stakeholders in Port Royal will benefit directly from a cruise call by the Nieuw Statemdam on November 25, some residents, including vendors, are still unwilling to take the COVID-19 jab.

They have complained that they did not benefit sufficiently from the previous two calls at the Naval Dockyard before the pandemic and contend that even if they take the jab, there is no guarantee of any business.

“If you weren’t chosen to showcase your stuff, you can’t go out there because the police will tell you, ‘You can’t harass the tourists’. I had to keep the stuff at my yard,” Ann-Marie Chamberlain said of a February 2020 call by tourists on board the Marella Discovery II, the second of its two visits.

“The few people that they selected to go out there, they selected eight out of the 50 of us,” Chamberlain added, noting that she was trained by a government agency to make craft items some time ago.

Although they were not willing to speak with The Gleaner on record, other vendors also complained that after not cashing in during the pre-pandemic calls, they are not motivated to get the jabs.

However, during a meeting at the Naval Dockyard yesterday, PAJ assistant vice president of business management and special operations, Karla Huie, refuted claims by residents that they did not benefit from the previous calls.

“All the booths for the Port Royal residents, they were given free of cost. They didn’t have to pay. They were given pride of place in terms of placement and arrangement.

Their fees were waived … ,” said Huie. “I was there. I saw the town busy. They did good business, but for this time, it cannot be business as usual, not when COVID is still around. This is for the protection of the residents.”

She stressed that without being vaccinated, they did not stand to benefit from the upcoming ship and future calls.

“When the passengers arrive here, they won’t be allowed to walk through the town. In fact, I don’t think they will be allowed to walk to the town because of the restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Health & Wellness, and this is all for the protection of the residents,” noting that most of the vendors in the area were unvaccinated.

Huie said that the visitors will be transported in a bubble, similar to what pertains in the resilient corridors, with a controlled environment that is governed by a strictly enforced set of protocols and standards for the tourism sector.

PAJ Assistant Vice President of Marketing Communications Kimberly Stiff said that as more Port Royal stakeholders and residents get vaccinated, more opportunities will be presented to them.

“We have more calls coming as of January [2022]. The activities are looking to intensify, so if they become vaccinated, we can make a case and allow more residents to benefit, [including] the bars and the shops, because that is a part of the experience for the cruise passengers,” Stiff told The Gleaner.

Stiff said that the Naval Dockyard is currently prepared to accept a ship, but the low vaccination rate among Jamaicans was causing the country to lose out on calls.

Roughly 15 per cent of Jamaicans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“We are ready. We can facilitate a ship tomorrow. The only issues that we are having is the low vaccination rate in Jamaica and our fellow Jamaicans should note that competitively, Jamaica is one of the lowest vaccinated countries, so all our competitors, as it relates to cruise shipping, they are in the higher percentages – 60, 70 and increasing – so when we talk about benefits, we should consider that,” she said.

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