Day 10: Reflecting on The Film Project (by Jordan)

As our time in Jamaica comes to an end, I feel that reflecting on the work we have done is important. I truly feel like I know so much more about Jamaican culture and the town of Falmouth than I ever would have without such an experience. As a part of the film group I was able to form connections with the people of Falmouth through our interviews and get to know how the port and the cruise industry affects them. My task was to research the cruise industry for reference in our film. In my research I found that the cruise industry is the fastest growing leisure travel industry, with 27 million passengers in the year 2018. Each cruise line almost always operates at 100% capacity. A medium sized cruise liner carrying around 4,000 passengers brings in an average of $600,000 per visit per port. In the case of Falmouth this money gets diluted as it is spent in the port which is not part of Falmouth, making tourism less profitable for Falmouth. This is relevant to our film because our topic is tourism and the port, and how they affect the town. The port contains a shopping center and restaurants which discourage people from leaving the port and venturing into town. This contradicts the promise of economic growth that Royal Caribbean made when they started this joint venture with the local Port Authority. There are many mixed opinions about the port, and it is apparent in the interviews we conducted that some people were against the port and some were for it. Our film is important because it highlights the issues of the port and also the importance of tourism in Falmouth. The film can be used in the future to help benefit Falmouth and other small towns that depend on tourism. Being part of the film group and working on this project helped me gain a greater understanding and deeper knowledge of Jamaica and how its economy is dependent on tourism.