The tourism industry in Costa Rica is the most dynamic sector of the country’s economy, and it continues to grow year after year, however, the different crimes committed against tourists, are hurting the image of the country, the most recent case took place last Sunday morning when Canadian tourist Bruce Craig McCalum was stabbed to death in Puerto Viejo, Limón when he was taking photos of the sunrise, the reason? They wanted to steal his camera.

According to statistics by the Organism of Judicial Investigation (OIJ) 35 reports for robbery and theft have been filed by tourists in the first 48 days of the year, the country of origin of the victims range from the United States and Canada to Italy, Argentina, Turkey, Spain, Germany, among others.

The two touristic areas that register more cases are Cahuita and Bratsi in the province of Limón, followed by Bahía Ballena in the province of Puntarenas, however reports have been filed also in the areas of San José, Tamarindo in Guanacaste, Puntarenas, and isolated events in other areas such as La Fortuna and Golfito.

“We promote Costa Rica as a pacific country, one where there is no army, we target tourists with high income, but these tourists are not going to come if the insecurity continues to grow”, stated Gustavo Araya, president of the Costa Rican Hotel Chamber

The U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica urges tourists “to exercise a high level of caution and vigilance due to increasing levels of violent crime”.

The Costa Rican Tourism Board has stated this states a big concern and a challenge to them and they are working with police authorities to implement different measures and take preventing actions to increase the vigilance and the security of the tourists.