Covel Hall, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU: THE MONTEGO Bay cruise shipping sector, though still waning in the shadows of Ocho Rios, has shown slight improvement since last year in the number of vessels calling at the city's port.
Earnings of over US$8 million were generated for the first six months of the year from over 100,000 cruise ship passengers who disembarked in the city.
Some 114 vessels called in Montego Bay with nearly 104,000 passengers, representing a marginal increase over last year's arrivals.
Manager of the Montego Bay Cruise Ship Terminal, David Lindo, told The Gleaner that about 33 per cent of the cruise ship passengers that disembark in Montego Bay travel to Ocho Rios, while others visit various attractions around the area.
Mr. Lindo says there are thoughts of developing a featured attraction for Montego Bay that will be "as exciting as Dunn's River Falls."
Meanwhile, craft vendors of the Old Fort Craft Market are again complaining of not doing very good business.
When The Gleaner visited the facility on Tuesday things were at a lull with just two visitors browsing.
Many of the sellers sat relaxing, others were making souvenirs, while some engaged in an afternoon prayer service.
According to President of the Old Fort Craft Market Association. Ruby Barrett, "...When we had the ship season we used to get quite a few but we not getting much now."
Ms. Barrett expects, however, that business will pick up at the start of the cruise season in October.
