Salt Marsh has solid tourism credentials

Residents of Salt Marsh in Trelawny are of the firm opinion that the sleepy fishing community, which lies just outside the parish capital Falmouth, has significant potential to evolve into a tourism site.

While Falmouth thrives on visitor arrivals at its cruise ship pier, the same cannot be said of Salt Marsh, despite its thriving craft trading industry.

Robert Lewis, a craft trader with over 15 years’ experience, told the WESTERN STAR that the community’s decline is due to poor marketing of what it has to offer to visitors.

“I think the area is not marketed properly, because the original plan was that right here should have been included when they did the tour route,” said Lewis. “The original plan was to get this place moving with other people, some selling homemade items and selling juices.”

“One or two tourists will pass by and stop, but if they come here on a ship day (when cruise ships dock in Falmouth), they don’t stop here. I hope we can get some business because we produce some very nice stuff,” Lewis added.

Mervyn Sinclair, principal of the Salt Marsh Primary and Infant School, said that the institution could play an active role in the community’s promotion as a tourist destination.

“The school could be one of the sites where tourists come in and our children could do cultural items, because we do enter JCDC (Jamaica Cultural Development Commission) competitions and we take part in cultural events,” said Sinclair.