THERE were two tourist related stories that grabbed my attention last week.
The first was that of a 26-year-old American woman who was groped by a man on Aston Quay in broad daylight as she went to catch her bus. Little did the lowlife thug realise that he was sexually harassing a champion powerlifter and he promptly received a sharp punch in the face from his victim.
The tourist’s story went viral after she revealed details of the unsavoury incident on social media. Without wishing to trivialise the seriousness of what happened, the manner in which this dirty little man got his comeuppance was a little bit satisfying. Sadly, his next victim – if he hasn’t learned his lesson – may not fare so well.
Just a few days later, the Irish Tourist Assistance Service (ITAS) revealed statistics on tourist crime. Demand for support offered by the service was at its highest level since it commenced, with an increasing number of visitors to Ireland seeking assistance in the aftermath of crime and other traumatic events.
The ITAS annual report showed the service had offered support and assistance to nearly 900 people who had fallen victim to crime and other traumatic events during their visit to Ireland in 2017. The most common crime perpetrated against tourists was theft from person (39 percent). There was an increase in referrals of theft from cars (11 percent) while a small number of tourists (15) were referred after violent crime such as aggravated theft, assault, sexual assault and robbery.
There were also 13 cases of online fraud with tourists paying large deposits for accommodation, only to arrive and find no valid reservations had been made. Fraudsters have also taken online payments for accommodation they did not own and even for properties which did not exist.
Gardaí continued to refer the majority of cases (86 percent) to the service, in particular Pearse Street station from which the ITAS operates an office seven days a week.
Over 40 per cent of tourist crimes occurred on the streets of Dublin city centre. Crimes also occurred when tourists were sightseeing, shopping and socialising. The majority of incidents took place between the hours of 2pm and 6pm in the capital, with victims tending to be female, aged between 17 and 25 years. The service assisted tourists from 48 countries around the world.
Crime against tourists is by no means just a Dublin problem and is an unfortunate feature of capital cities all over the world. While it can be difficult to eliminate it, we all have a collective responsibility to ensure that visitors to this country are afforded the full protection of the law and given as much assistance as possible from the public when they do fall prey to criminals.
Even a bad experience can be negated by the kindness of others.