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Thursday | June 1, 2000
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Simpson Miller hits at Spring Breakers' behaviour
MINISTER OF Tourism and Sport, Portia Simpson Miller, has said that her Ministry will seek to ensure that appropriate standards of behaviour are maintained at the annual Spring Break period on the north coast.
She was reacting to reports of indecent behaviour emanating from events staged in the resort towns for the entertainment of American students, who come to Jamaica to celebrate their annual break from studies.
"We do not expect any activity to be promoted among these young people that we would consider unacceptable for our own young people and I want to reassure the country, that we will work with our local and overseas tour partners to ensure that appropriate standards of behaviour are maintained," Mrs. Simpson Miller told the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
She said that some 52,000 students have visited the island for the event over the past two years.
"The majority of these students came to enjoy the culture and hospitality of this country and conducted themselves in a very orderly way, and contributed to the earnings of a large number of our hotels in Negril and Montego Bay and a few others in Ocho Rios.
"In promoting Spring Break in Jamaica, we project an image of the island as a destination for wholesome fun and excitement.
"When we became aware that some negative practices were being encouraged in some establishments, our agencies moved quickly, though quietly, to intervene. We want it known, that this is not acceptable behaviour in Jamaica and that we will not condone any conduct that breaks our laws or infringes on our standards of decency," she said.
In March a group of American students in the island for Spring Break at a Montego Bay night club, stripped naked and used their tongues to clean whip cream from each other's bodies, while a large crowd cheered them on.
While several tourists and local residents were greatly amused by the carryings-on, others, particularly locals, condemned the action as gross indecency.
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