The Falmouth Pier in Trelawny, which has been called the new hub of cruise shipping in Jamaica, isn’t performing as well as the town’s residents had hoped, at least in the eyes of local students. The pier has been given a failing grade by sixth form students of William Knibb Memorial High School, who do not believe the pier is benefitting the town as much as they had hoped.
Tasanica Ellis, one of eight panelists who discussed the topic Falmouth: Jamaica’s new economic frontier, fact or fiction? during a Gleaner-Island Grill Youth Editors’ Forum at her school, described the $220-million cruise-shipping pier as a “monstrosity,” which has failed to bring any real revenue or benefits to the small town.
“There is no benefit for the small man,” said Ellis. “Everything is either boxed into the pier or is spread elsewhere outside of Falmouth. Only the investors in the pier reap any economic benefits. We do not see any partnerships between the investors in the pier that will include the small man and allow for him to get any benefit.”
Ellis also argued that the town could do more to help bring in more cruise visitors by developing new attractions and employing locals to work at the pier.
“They could develop the Burwood Beach and make it into a proper attraction that could see people gaining employment,” suggested Ellis. “They could open a restaurant offering authentic Jamaican food and drink so the people would be inclined to stay here. Most of the cruise-ship visitors, who come to Falmouth, leave to Montego Bay (St James) or Ocho Rios (St Ann) to enjoy the attractions in those towns.”
Another panelist, Nastascia Gossel, believes it is a lack of development in the town that is affecting the performance of the pier and the subsequent revenue. She argued that nothing has been done to benefit the general population.
“When we look at Falmouth, it is a total disaster; the small businesses are not seeing any of the benefits that were promised from the development of the cruise-ship pier,” argued Gossel. “The drainage system is seriously lacking; to be quite frank, Falmouth has hardly been developed over the past two years.”
Orlando Dowlatt, another panelist, also agreed that the “common man” in Trelawny has not been considered.
“We are seeing that the pier has spurred some economic growth as the country on a whole has been benefiting from the foreign-exchange but for the common man, there is absolutely nothing,” Dowlett argued.
The youths all agreed that while the pier does offer economic benefits for Jamaica as a whole, the “trickle down” effect was lacking in Falmouth and the town was not reaping the same benefits as the government.
As the cruise ship accident attorneys at Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. well know, when residents aren’t happy, these sentiments might reflect on the way the port operates and might lead to mishaps and injuries for passengers and locals. Anyone who has been hurt while in port while on a cruise vacation has the right to seek legal help to protect their rights and fight for compensation for their pain and suffering.
If you or a loved one were hurt at port, contact our experienced lawyers today to request a consultation to discuss you options in filing a case.
Photo Credit:
jamaica-gleaner.com
Published on February 1, 2013
Categories: Cruise Ship Accidents, Cruise Ship Law, International Maritime
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