By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunmedia.net

ALTHOUGH the country is hitting tourism records, some straw vendors say they are struggling.

Rebecca Small, president of the Straw Business Persons Society, told The Tribune yesterday that sales this Christmas season have been better than last year, but there are days when some vendors barely make any money.

She said yesterday several vendors worked all day and didn’t make $100. She said tourists aren’t spending much money at the downtown Straw Market.

 “One vendor told me she made $15 one day. The next day she came out, she made $25,” Ms Small said. “You could go on the other side of the market, you’ll find people who said they did well.”

 She said people wrongly believe the large number of cruise ship arrivals means big increases in sales.

 Mal Smith, a straw vendor of over a decade, said the number of cruise ships in town do not reflect the amount of money going into vendors’ pockets.

 “I’ve been out here from after 9am and I have yet to make $60,” she said yesterday afternoon. “So we have the people, but for me personally, I don’t have the money.”

 Ms Smith said she’s worried about making ends meet this Christmas season.

 “I am really stressed out because I have four kids in school that got to go back to school and everything,” she said. “And you know people come in and you want to give them a gift, you want to make them happy. But it’s not there. It’s rough.”

 Earlier this month, the Deputy Prime Minister said officials estimate that direct visitor spending in the Bahamian economy amid record tourist arrivals will “far exceed $6bn” this year, exceeding previous records.

 Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis later said in a statement that the country’s record-breaking eight million visitors this year is boosting national income, creating extensive employment, and stimulating various sectors of the economy.