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+--- Thread: age replacement... (/showthread.php?tid=101737)
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age replacement... - Oldtimer2 - 03-13-2017
as we oldsters get too old to visit Ja ,who is going to take our place ? As you peeps well know there are hardly any youth on the beach. Maybe they all stay in/on A/I resorts but they aren't sticking their heads on the beach . My kids and grandkids have traveling friends that have Ja number last on their places to go . Last year at Treehouse my son and daughter-in-law were the youngest at the resort with the exception of one family that had two children . In 2018 I have a villa rented in TB for 1 week and a building unit at Treehouse rented for 1 week. I have children , babies , some of my kids and me knowing that there probably wouldn't be other kids to meet . Is this going to stop quickly ( health concerns )or is it going to fade off into the sunset ? This is just a question , nothing else .
RE: age replacement... - kylake - 03-13-2017
Interesting question OT. I think a lot of young folks are going to Mexico instead. Mostly the Yucatan Peninsula (Cancun, Rivera Maya, Akumal, Tulum, Isla Mujeres). Beaches are nice, food prices compared to Jamaica (IMHO) are cheaper and public transportation (AC buses and collectivo) is cheap and more available than JA.
I have been looking at some nice condo type apartments on the Bay of Isla Mujeres with nice kitchen, pool and beach for $981 a month usd.
I think most young folks are on a tighter budget than us older folks.
That said when Rick's cam was working you would always see a bunch of young folks. Probably staying in AI's as you suggested or on a day trip from some other area in JA.
It will be interesting to see what others on this board have to say.
RE: age replacement... - Westenders - 03-13-2017
This has been a topic of discussion in our group for a couple of years.
My feeling is that negril in particular has simply lost its vibe for younger tourists.
One of the reasons I think is the noise abatement enforcement....so thinking back 7-8 years ago , there were beach parties, and frequent dancehall and reggae live music events throughout the year.
For example,
Look on you tube at Alfred's during that time...there is lots of younger people.
Now Alfred's is dead empty most of the time, with an ageing and sometimes weird looking tourist clientele that is off putting to me let alone the younger crowd.
I think that some older tourists and the older hoteliers are very powerful in ' objecting' to entertainment and change in Negril and have limited vision of how they plan to attract younger tourists.
I agree that a lot of the younger folk are in the AIs, although the Negril AIs have a very boring nightlife scene, which wouldn't have engaged me when I was in my 20s.
Nightlife is important when your younger.
Negril lacks good quality and affordable non AI for younger families.
For us Brits, we can take our children to European destinations, where there is fun and appropriate evening entertainment for the kids. AI is not popular in Europe. Families go out to restaurants at night...and spend cash all over the area they stay in.
Budget is not necessarily a reason to not visit. Kids will just be bored in negril,
Long bay beach years ago used to have a fantastic sense of fun and vibrancy that drew many. It is just dead now. Not everyone wants peace and quiet ALL the time.
Not everyone wants to keep thinking about replicating or think back to what negril used to be. I think that can be ageing too.
Now all the long time visitors and fun party tourists have gotten older, and are moaning about loud music and crowds, seems like they have totally forgotten that many of them came to Negril in the first place to get drunk, high and party the night away.
The Negril Chamber of Commerce need to work with Hanover more, as bloody bay has now become the place to be for various AI budgets. Bloody bay is sometimes a bit far for people to feel that they can venture out at night time. So those guests just stay up that end.
We were there for New Years. Bloody bay was packed out with full occupancy.
Negril was very quiet in comparison to the many previous years...so much so that we are not going to visit at this premium time of year again...more fun at home.
Most of the entertainment was hotel based....dose'nt float my boat...and am sure it dose'nt the younger ones.
Bars like Drifters and the boat bar don't interest me....very middle aged... ( and I am middle aged in my 40s).. It's very like the cabaret scene, but just on the beach...I'm not ready for that let alone the younger ones.
I think Negril needs to regroup and rebrand....and think of how they are going to continue to attract new visitors.
Family accommodation is a gap as I mentioned, but so is a hotel scene for the singles ( not necessarily solo, ) fun and party seeking crowd .
If I was a business person there, this is an opportunity I would be seeking to maximise.....
The new breathless hotel in mobay is aiming for that....and is more cost for uk travellers to travel to and stay in than sandals and couples.
The accommodation dose'nt need to be as slick as this or as expensive...but the hoteliers need to think about their future...and how they can attract young people and families....not just sit there waiting for them to book.
As for the west end, well the worsening condition of the road indicates how wstmoreland parish council values this area of negril. If your not investing in the main road, then it will all go down hill. There is definitely nothing to attract younger people to staying or visiting the west end.
Sorry for the ramble, but this is an issue that has niggled us for a while.
RE: age replacement... - Oldtimer2 - 03-13-2017
Westy...I think you are correct in so many ways . My daughters say " safety followed by never ending sexual advances to the youth . One of my grand daughters who is 14 years old is almost 6 ft tall. Two years ago when she was 12 it was non stop bothering her . She refuses to come next year . Staying at Treehouse you get to see the boats coming into M'ville) each day with youth BUT !!!! nobody ( as in the giggie's ) are allowed inside the ropes that lead to the bar from the beach . Drinking is their only show or things around drinking .
RE: age replacement... - daniel - 03-13-2017
good question OT . no clue of an answer , but , you are right , it is an older crew in Negril . We just spent 2 weeks at NBCC , and it was definitely a lot of older repeat visitors . Even the obviously first timers , who walk around with a look of shock and awe , are older . Jamaica has a lot to offer to a variety of travelers , the adventurers will find their way .
RE: age replacement... - Firemon - 03-13-2017
I'm NOT saying this is what Negril needs but wanted to share for OT's sake.
RE: age replacement... - Oldtimer2 - 03-14-2017
I'm not saying this is what Negril needs BUT it needs some of it . I love to go out a few times when in Negril but I don't want to stay out all night and then miss the next day at the beach . I like a lot of you people did plenty of staying out BUT the crowd changed hands . The music was a place to go to sharing space with the locals BUT now there are just too many sales people at the events . For instances I would love to "saunter " to the music , stop at a couple of places on the way , stop at a couple of places on the way back BUT now because of safety the $25 spent on the saunters are now spent on cabs ,going and coming . There just aren't the youth to take over because they have been told of the unsafe condition like road safety , walking on the beach safety , etc...and rightfully so in a lot of cases .Sound abatement is another thing . Just start earlier, simple . Sorry about the run on . If I was going alone I think it would be 100% TB...or close to it .
RE: age replacement... - Sharleen - 03-14-2017
I have a lot of nieces and nephews that I am not particularly close with, I see them at Christmas and at funerals, but many of them go to Jamaica, all at what to me are kind of weird places. I also work at a major University and many of the younger workers go to Jamaica, again, to places I kind of 'would never EVER want to go to'. I did a quick search on 'package deals to Jamaica' and this is what I came up with:
https://bookit.com/jamaica/?gclid=CIyFkLC319ICFVuBswod89kEMA
just to give as an example (I think you have to cut and paste into your browser, clicking on the link won't work. How grim is that listing ? ! ?
My older daughter really wants to go back to Jamaica, my younger daughter likes to go to Italy (Almafie coast sp?), Spain and Iceland. My younger daughter is the one I just went to Jamaica with and she did really enjoy herself there and said she would go back definitely. She was the one who said no to going for the entire time to Treasure Beach, I think in part because she knew what to expect in Negril.
When walking on Negril Beach, the A/I couples certainly didn't have any younger people staying there, at least at Couples. Though most certainly there was a young crowd coming from some A/I places on those large boats to both Margaritaville and Rick's Cafe too.
Coming back through Philadelphia, the majority of the people on the smaller plane (to Albany NY) were coming back from a great amount of various vacations in the Caribbean. Aruba, Turks and Caicos, Exuma, Belize, St. Lucia.. it was interesting talking to all of them about the island they went to.
I did notice this time quite a bit of foreign speaking tourists, and they weren't from Italy either. When I used to go to Jamaica every year in August I did stay in quite a bit of places where Italian people stayed, they were great & loved the reggae music and the Jamaican herb. I'm thinking these people were talking quite possibly German, though I'm not sure.
Where I live, we have had this HUGE snowstorm, three feet of snow at my house and it is still snowing, all airports closed, all Amtrak trains have ceased operating. It is still snowing where I live! The governor closed all three campuses at the University where I work today so I didn't even have to go to work & I really wouldn't have been able to get there anyways!
RE: age replacement... - kylake - 03-15-2017
Quote: OT said, "My daughters say " safety followed by never ending sexual advances to the youth . One of my grand daughters who is 14 years old is almost 6 ft tall. Two years ago when she was 12 it was non stop bothering her"
Both disgusting and sad.
RE: age replacement... - jitterbug - 03-20-2017
Good thread . . . I'm in negril right now, bar b barn . . . A visibly aged visitor population . . .
One of the locals that hangs around was walking by and talking about how bar b barns visitors are all old!
True! . . . Beach is pretty quiet for this time of year! . . . Maybe more folks are at the a1 end . . .
Still feels great to be able to spend a couple of weeks relaxing?
The road is more scarier . . . Went to mini mart across from the hotel, scary, young "madman" in and out of store.
We walked on the sidewalk to kenneys the Chinese food place, only to have two bikes come up from behind us with two ppl on each bike. Kind of had to scramble out of the way.
Not pleasant walking the sidewalk with all the garbage bins overloaded and the smell, one kind of has to take a run by that??
Looking forward to coming back.