Jew Town traders to take on giants

Kochi: To take on big showrooms that pay commission to travel agents and guides to lure tourists to their shops, almost 110 small traders at Jew Town in Mattancherry have got together to protect their business. The move is in the wake of seven shops downing shutters due to low turnout of tourists.
The Jew Town Merchants' Welfare Association has decided to print cards in French, Spanish, Italian, German and English asking tourists not to fall prey to agents and purchase expensive handicraft from big showrooms that claim to be government approved."Our representative will stand outside the big showrooms and distribute cards," said A Anish, president of the welfare association.
The major showrooms have long been canvassing travel agents and guides offering large commissions for bringing tourists to their outlets.
The new association has members from Handicraft Dealers' Association, Kashmiri Traders' Association and footpath vendors. "The long-standing nexus between large showrooms and travel agents and guides prevent tourists from visiting other parts of Jew Town, affecting our business and livelihood. When we spoke with a former member of the Guides Association, he said travel agents instructed them to take tourists only to the showrooms they were associated with. We will conduct strong protest in front of the showrooms. The low turnout of tourists to shops in Jew Town has forced seven shops to down shutters," Anish said. There are around 110 shops in Jew Town and over 20 street vendors.
"We cannot force a tourist to visit only a particular showroom. This is the main agreement we reach with tourists. It is true that there was a nexus between showrooms, travel agents and guides in Mattancherry. Now only a few people are involved," the representative of an international travel agency said.
"The big showrooms make false allegations against smaller traders in Jew Town and dissuade visitors from visiting our shops," said Sajid Khatai, a Kashmiri who runs a handicraft shop in Jew Town. T A Nassar Jamal, who ran a handicraft shop on Synagogue Street for nine years, left the business last year. "Though tourists were coming in hordes, they were not visiting our shops. They only follow the instructions of the guide. We had good business till three years ago. After a point, I could not even earn Rs 10,000 to pay the monthly rent of the building."