Murder of Tourist Renews Question of Insecurity in Costa Rica

The cold blooded murder of an Argentinian tourist on Thursday in the beaches of Costa Rica has again raised the question of insecurity and safety for tourism in the Central American country, which receives every year more than 2 million visitors.

Carolina Silva, 29, who was shot in the head in Playa Samara by two criminals to steal her laptop, is joined by the death of a young American who was shot by a hotel security guard earlier this month, when he tried to sneak in after curfew.

A French couple have gone missing in the last couple of months, the couple disappearing in March after spending several days holidaying in Costa Rica. A similar fate befell English journalist Michael Dixon, who hasn't been seen or heard from since last October, after he disappeared in the Pacific beach town of Tamarindo, one of the most popular beaches in Costa Rica.

Drugs, social problems, unemployment and alcoholism has become scourges in the country of less than 5 million people.

In Limón, on the Caribbean coast, an American tourist was killed years ago. The same in Golfito in the southern zone.

These and other acts of violence against tourists has led both the United States and Great Britain to issue travel advisories for Costa Rica, warning their citizens to take precautions before travelling to paradise.

According to police figures, there are at least 30 complaints filed per month for thefts against foreign tourists, this not counting the number of attacks not reported, that could be as high as five or ten or more times the reported.

More than half of all foreign visitors to a country that sells its image abroad as a "green country and environmentally friendly" come from the United States.

Another large percentage comes from Europe, especially countries like Germany and Spain, whose nationals have been attacked in Costa Rica.

Jason Alvarado, of the Cámara Nacional de Turismo (CANATUR) - national chamber of tourism - has been calling on the government to make efforts to make the country a "safe destination".

The tourism sector has been hard hit with the world economic crisis which has meant more tourists coming to Costa Rica, but are spending less.

Figures by the Instituto Costarricense Tourism (ICT) - Tourism ministry - tourist arrivals are are up 7% for the first three month of 2011 over the same period last year, but are staying a few days less that tourists of the past and spending a few hundred dollars less.

Add to that the insecurity question and revenue from tourism and its indirect effect can quickly devastate a country whose main industry is tourism.

The current mood can be easily summed up by the words of Argentina's ambassador to Costa Rica, Juan José Arcuri, commenting on the Silva murder, "what happened is appalling, outrageous and unacceptable".

And although Costa Rican authorities are concerned about crime against tourists as it will "tarnish" the image of Costa Rica as a "paradise", as it promises abroad, it is difficult to gauge if there really are doing something or anything about it.

At first look the answer is a "no".

The problem is not a new problem, attacks on tourists has grown since when in 1996 there was recorded the kidnapping of German national Nicola Fleuchas and Swiss national, Susana Sigfried, who were spending the year end in Boca Tapada de San Carlos. Both were abducted by a Nicaraguan "comando" group.

The two women were held hostage for a total of 71 days and released after the payment of a ransom.

The government created several years the "policia turistica" (tourism police) to provide security for tourists and the industry in general.

But CANATUR and local tourism chambers consider that the government has to do more when related to public safety, especially more police presence, as indicated by polls.