My wife and I have booked a winter holiday in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I keep
seeing conflicting reports on how safe the resort is. My wife is already a
little apprehensive. What are your views on the latest situation there? Chris
Henry, Liverpool
Sunday Times travel expert Richard Green responds: Last year, there
were 1,574 murders in Jamaica (almost 60 per 100,000 people on an island not
much bigger than Cyprus). South Africa has about 40 per 100,000, the USA
about six, and England and Wales are below two.
It's pretty dire alright, but your wife shouldn't be fearful. Most of the
violence takes place between rival gangs in the most deprived areas of
Kingston, with the resort areas around Montego Bay seeing far less trouble.
The government likes to boast that the country is one of the safest places on
the Caribbean for tourists, which may perversely be true. A lot of tourists
either pass through on a cruise ship, or stay in a resort, and are so aware
of the crime situation, that they don't wander from the beaten track, as
they might do in other Caribbean countries.
The vast majority of tourists have a completely trouble free time in Jamaica -
it's just a question of being sensible while you are there. Don't walk away
from the resort areas at night, or use the local buses, and always get your
hotel to call a taxi for you. Don't flaunt your jewellery or carry large
amounts of cash on you either, and make use of the safety deposit boxes in
your hotel room. If you hire a car, stick to daylight hours, and don't pick
up hitchhikers.
However, don't let any of this stop you going on organised trips out to the
main sites around Montego Bay, which are quite safe.
The best source of authoritative advice if the Foreign and Commonwealth
office, and it's regularly updated country-by-country travel advice, at www.fco.gov.uk.
For more information, see www.visitjamaica.com
and www.montego-bay-jamaica.com
In Jamaica your susceptibility to crime is linked to your lifestyle, location and nationality. Visited Shanghai once and afterwards told a Chinese-Canadian how safe I found the place. He said there was a lot of crime but the police cracks down hard on crime against foreigners. Same in Jamaica.
Frank, Kingston, Jamaica
I am a Londoner that moved to Jamaica 2 years ago. Jamaica gets some pretty terrible press, especially from the US and UK publications. The reality coming from somebody who is relatively new to the island, i.e. me, is that the situation is blown way out of proportion. When I say that, I am not denying the number of murders per annum and where they put Jamaica on the World stage in terms of a murder rate per capita, moreover, this crime is pretty much isolated to Downtown Kingston where one finds rival gangs, corrupt cops, dodgy politicians pitching said rival gangs against one another in what is meant to look like a turf war. The reality is that nobody can even remember what they are fighting about. Much of the violence stems from poor, uneducated, under privileged people from the ghetto and the violence for the most part is contained within a couple of square miles in Kingston. The tourist areas are on the north coast and are safe period. No more space to type. Lots more to say!
Sam, Kingston, Jamaica