Tourist Police gets vehicles and uniforms from INTUR
Róger Solórzano Canales | Dec 22, 2011
Six municipalities featuring several tourism attractions will get the new equipment.
A package constituted by eighteen 4x4 motorbikes, a Sedan vehicle and 180 uniforms were given yesterday, December 21, by the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (INTUR) to benefit the National Police. The goal is to improve the working conditions of the tourism units located in the municipalities of San Carlos, León, Corinto, San Juan del Sur, Altagracia and Moyogalpa.
Mario Salinas, executive president of INTUR, stated that this donation is part of the agreement that was signed by both institutions last year. However, their job has been developed since 2007 when the training of more than 4, 200 policemen and the development of dozens of tourism security plans started. The safety of tourist destinations, the protection of foreigners and the fight against sexual tourism in the country are the main goals of these policemen, stated the representative of INTUR.
The General Commissioner Francisco Diaz, vice- director of the National Police, celebrated the efforts of the Nicaraguan police regarding tourism. He also shared the following official report regarding 2011:
- There has been no homicide in which the victim has been a tourist. To this day, INTUR reported over 1 million 40 thousand visitors.
- There has been no crime affecting any of the 30 000 tourists who visited the country as passengers on cruise ships that docked in Corinto and San Juan del Sur.
- Compared with the previous year, there was a decrease of crimes taking place in tourist sites (less than 35).
- So far, 251 crimes involving tourists have been officially registered, which is equivalent to 0.1% of the overall amount (about 71 000 according to police data).
Mario Salinas stated that thanks to these safety plans, the proposal for planning and implementation of tourist safety strategies will be presented next month by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The presentation will be held at a meeting involving several countries of the region.
Uniforms include a hat, T-shirt, short, belt and sports shoes that will be worn by the tourism unit of the National Police.