Virgin Islands to evict peddlers who badger tourists

Tag : feather headdress

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands Selling everything from timeshares to T-shirts, ''barkers'' havebeen a constant presence -- and nuisance -- for tourists visitingthe U.S. Virgin Islands.
No more.
As of Aug. 1, the ragtag group of business promoters will beevicted from store fronts and other tourist-friendly areas theyhave dominated for several decades.
'The problem is that once you look anything like a tourist, youwere being bombarded, whether it'd be a timeshare or someonesaying, 'You don't want to shop in that store,' '' Joe Aubain,executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce,said Sunday.
Aubain said shoppers and cruise-ship operators complainedfrequently about barkers verbally abusing tourists if they refusedto enter a store, sometimes calling them ugly or criticizing thesize of their behinds.
Others refused to be ignored or went to great lengths to callattention to themselves: One barker wore a feather headdress, chapsand a loincloth.
The government tried to polish and professionalize the hawkers'image -- requesting that they wear uniforms and stay withindesignated areas while luring tourists into stores. But the vendorsrefused, prompting the eviction order.
Aubain said he has not received any feedback on the new law fromstore owners who employ barkers.
His conclusion? They're probably hoping officials will forget toenforce it.