Following the money
Published:Sunday | February 27, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Some water-sports operators to swap Ocho Rios for Falmouth
After more than 35 years of operating a successful water-sports business in Ocho Rios, St Ann, Garfield Dussard is packing up and heading to Falmouth, Trelawny.
"Me a move me thing them down there. Me have a spot down there already and me heading there because me know say Ochi (Ocho Rios) doomed," Dussard prophesied with a sense of gloom during a recent interview with The Sunday Gleaner recently.
Dussard, who operates Garfield's Diving Station on the Urban Development Corporation (UDC)-owned beach in the heart of Ocho Rios, said he wants to begin moving to Falmouth as soon as possible.
"The business was going on all right but nuff things happen and all politics get involved," charged Dussard.
He said a sharp reduction in customers and the way the UDC is operating the beach are among the reasons for his decision to relocate.
"There is also a racial problem in Ocho Rios that you don't have in Falmouth and even the black people like me and the small-craft vendors get treated fairly in Falmouth. Ochi (Ocho Rios) get messed up, man," Dussard argued.
He was supported by other water-sports operators on the UDC beach with at least one person also indicating an intention to relocate to Falmouth.
"Business is very bad. Persons do come to the beach sometimes but not very often and even when the tourists come off the cruise ships, they lie down on the beach but they are not spending any money," said Maureen Singh, who has been in the water sports business for more than 20 years.
"This time of the year is winter and it is the older people I see coming. That is unusual because at this time of the year, we usually get a lot of scuba-diver certification courses and so on," said Singh.
She was not prepared to join others in blaming the recently opened Falmouth Port for the fall-off in business.
Instead, Singh pointed to the worldwide recession.
"I can't say that Falmouth is a problem yet, because the ships just started going there, but it's going to impact on us because the better ships are the ones slated to go to Falmouth and those are the ones we get the most business from," said Singh.
"I think I will be moving to Falmouth because the ships with the people with the money are going there. The ships that are coming to Ocho Rios, those people don't really spend," Singh added.
"We have to follow the money," quipped Dussard.
Other water-sports operators at the UDC beach, who are not looking to head to Falmouth immediately, are looking at ways to drum up business.
"Probably advertise or something like that. Do some marketing as that is the key for us," said one operator.
"You have to remember that it is a worldwide recession and tourists coming here don't have the money to do other activities," said the operator identified only as Miss Chin.
"Falmouth will make it worse as some of the ships which come to Ocho Rios will be moving there," she added.