Crime Wave Against Tourists in Rio Sparks Concern
Brazilian authorities sought ways to make Rio de Janiero tourist spots safer on Tuesday amid sharp criticism of police after 24 muggings over a holiday weekend.
Visitors from Germany, Italy and Argentina were among the victims in the four-day spree. A 61-year-old Japanese woman remained hospitalized after being stabbed on Friday while trying to flee from robbers.
"Naturally, these numbers are not normal and something has got to change," said a spokeswoman for the state security secretariat. Security officials were meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to improve policing at tourist areas.
"Whatever new measures the authorities decide to take now, they should have been taken long time ago," said Alfredo Lopes de Souza, president of the Rio de Janeiro Hotel Industry Association."The authorities are not doing enough to protect tourists and citizens."
With its sweeping beaches and emerald-green hills, Rio is the main entry point for tourists in Brazil and the $1 billion that foreigners spend here annually is key to its economy.Violence seems to be increasingly targeting those spenders.
Last month, gunmen held up a bus with 17 Germans on the way to a hotel from the airport. The next day, two Americans in a travel agency's car were robbed on the same highway.
"All this affects the decisions made by tourists on where to go. Occupancy rates are reasonable now, but we could have had many more coming, we could be building new hotels, but we aren't. Violence is the biggest problem in Rio," Lopes said.
Policing was reinforced a month ago after an amateur video tape showed a gang of youths attacking tourists in daylight.More police have patrolled the beaches in the past few weeks and made arrests but with little apparent effect.
(From Reuters, November 16, 2004)
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