SAFETY AND SECURITY AT THE DESTINATIONS

TOURIST SECURITY AND THE HOST COMMUNITY

         International tourism in Guatemala has developed in a relatively irregular fashion over the past 35 years. Between 1960 and 1995, tourism attained an average growth rate of 4% a year, and the number of foreign visitors increased from only 110,000 in 1960 to 563,000 by 1995. According to preliminary data, this figure declined slightly in 1996.

        As for foreign currency inflows stemming from tourism, the change on record is even more impressive. From a mere US$8 million in 1960, foreign exchange shot up to US$284.3 million in 1996, while the number of hotel rooms rose from less than 3,000 to over 13,000.

        Despite the optimistic picture painted by this rising number of visitors, which will trigger similar increases in all the different services required by tourists, such as hotels, transportation, travel agencies, guides, and the like, there is tangible evidence that the tourist sector in Guatemala could have achieved a much higher growth rate during the period in question. The country could at the present time be attracting around 800,000 tourists a year, which would provide Guatemala with an estimated US$400 million in annual tourist income. This scenario, however, did not occur because of a series of obstacles, including the widespread lack of security prevailing among the people in the country.

        While cities have been booming, social needs have also been growing, and a response to those needs is not usually developed in tandem with the population growth, thereby resulting in increased crime. This situation affects not only the resident population, but also, and quite unfortunately, certain groups of tourists who arrive in our country every day.

        Over the past few years, the tourist industry has therefore been seriously undermined by the growing lack of security among the citizens. This has manifested itself in the tourist sector in different ways. The crime afflicting the major cities includes the following:

• Direct robbery of persons in city streets or parks;
• Attacks on vehicles between airports and hotels;
• Attacks on tourist vehicles on roads and highways in the country;
• Attacks on tourists visiting national parks;
• Acts of corruption on the part of officials at the ports of entry;
• Exploitation on the part of dishonest employees of transportation companies, who charge arbitrary rates.

        Guatemala City unquestionably provides a classic example of how a country endowed with all the elements needed to be a genuine Mecca for tourists was unable to realize this ambition because of the lack of security prevailing in the country during a number of years.

        It is even more difficult to combat security problems in developing countries with few financial and technical resources than it is in developed countries. These considerations lead one to wonder to what extent it makes sense to invest large sums of money to promote tourism in a country where there are security problems which have affected tourism in one way or another, since security is not the most important factor in determining where and when to travel and in what circumstances. On this point, it is widely accepted by the international community that the success of the tourist industry in a particular country or region is directly linked to its ability to offer tourists a safe and pleasant visit. It does not make sense to spend millions on marketing campaigns if the potential tourists are afraid to visit the country or region selected.

        From this we can infer that countries facing security problems affecting tourists should make a serious effort to try to resolve the main obstacles and problems, or at least minimize them, before investing considerable amounts of money in promoting tourism. Otherwise, conducting a massive promotional campaign on a country in total disregard for its internal security could be regarded as irresponsible. We must bear in mind that tourists whose own security has been jeopardized automatically become the worst propagandists for the country or region they visited. When they go back to their own countries, these tourists will not hesitate to let people in their social circles know about the negative experience they had.

        With a view to helping solve the repeated problems it has been encountering in this area, Guatemala has adopted a policy based primarily on two approaches. The first approach is preventive, and the other involves direct protection for visitors. In taking this action, the country has relied on similar measures implemented in other countries which have faced tourist security problems of one kind or another.

        As part of the first approach, a series of pamphlets focusing on prevention were designed and are distributed to foreign tourists at international airports upon their arrival. This activity has been extended to the most important border areas as well, and pamphlets have also been distributed at the major hotels. The characteristics and content of these publications can be summed up as follows:

    - IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON SECURITY:

      This is a three-page pamphlet published in five languages, namely, Spanish, English, German, French, and Italian. It includes advice and a series of recommendations as to what to do upon leaving the airport. For tourists renting a car, it indicates the safe places to visit and the places to avoid. It suggests precautions to take in walking around the city, and gives general recommendations on food and safe drinking water, and on where to get help in the event of a problem. Finally, it includes the telephone numbers of all the accredited consulates in Guatemala, the airlines, the Immigration Department, fire departments, and some hospitals. This pamphlet is mainly distributed to tourists at their port of entry into the country.

    - SECURITY FOR TRAVELERS:

        This is a four-page pamphlet published in six languages, i.e., Spanish, English, German, French, Italian, and Japanese. It consists primarily of advice on security in hotels, since the main source of this publication is the American Hotel and Motel Association of the United States. The only other information it contains is the telephone numbers of the consulates established in Guatemala. It is essentially distributed to hotels, and is found either at the reception desk or in the rooms.

    - CODE OF ETHICS AND BEHAVIOR OF TOURISTS IN GUATEMALA:

         This is a six-page pamphlet which has been published to date in only two languages, Spanish and English. Intended for foreign visitors, it contains the basic laws and regulations pertaining to tourists, and highlights a series of prohibitions applicable to them, such as working without authorization, trafficking in and using drugs, buying or selling archeological or colonial objects, participating in political activities, and the like. Finally, it includes the telephone numbers of the Guatemalan Tourist Institute offices in various parts of the country, the airlines operating in the country, the Immigration Department, fire departments, and some hospitals.

            The publication and circulation of these pamphlets has of course not put an end to the security problems affecting various areas in certain circumstances. But they have at least helped reduce crimes involving tourists, since they focus on preventive action that puts possible victims on the alert, and so they have tended to diminish the success of these crimes. These preventive pamphlets have therefore made an effective contribution to reducing the number of visitors who have been involved in crimes of this sort. It is important to point out in this connection that some tourists do not read these preventive pamphlets, even though they have had them in their possession. This absolves the relevant authorities of any responsibility if these tourists should subsequently experience any problems, since they did not follow the advice and recommendations given in the publications.

        As part of the second set of activities, which supplements the preventive measures, the public and private sectors are currently working in close coordination to establish the Municipal Tourist Police, which will operate in the main tourist centers and locations, and on the roads leading to them.

        Based on the laws in force in Guatemala, this proposed Municipal Tourist Police will be given the following primary functions:

• Provide information and guidance to tourists;
• Prevent crime;
• Protect both visitors and residents;
• Respond to tourists’ complaints, giving them guidance as appropriate;
• If necessary, provide liaison with consulates or embassies;
• Help protect cultural monuments, and preserve the environment;
• Combat trafficking in religious and/or colonial objects, and in drugs;
• Make sure foreign visitors refrain from engaging in remunerative work.

        These are the most important functions, but not the only ones, since as we have already indicated, this police force will be generally responsible for reducing crime in the towns and places that attract the most tourists. Besides setting up posts in strategic spots and in enough places for control and information purposes, this police should have a sufficient number of vehicles to carry out patrols and to ensure effective and rapid mobilization. All units should have an excellent radio communications system.

        As its name indicates, the Municipal Tourist Police will have its headquarters in the municipalities where the most important tourist attractions are located. General coordination will be provided through an office in Guatemala City. During the first stage of their operations, they will endeavor to improve security in the area of La Aurora International Airport, and in the vicinity of the city of Antigua Guatemala. Later on, it will cover other tourist areas according to their order of importance, such as Panajachel at Atitlan Lake, Chichicastenango, Quetzaltenango, and the corresponding access roads.

        As to the composition of this police force, based on past experience, it is felt that it does not necessarily have to consist of a large staff, since what is needed more than quantity is quality. This is why special emphasis and importance are attached to training the agents to make up this force. Before selecting them, short courses will be given on subjects related to their job, the importance of tourism to the country, human relations, and a working knowledge of English. Since it will be a municipal police force, it will be made up exclusively of persons coming from the relevant communities or cities. In this way, they will be certain to have an excellent knowledge of the tourist attractions in the area and satisfactory relations with the community.

        To ensure that the Municipal Tourist Police will perform its functions as effectively as possible, it is essential for government or private institutions which have some sort of relationship with it to remain in constant and direct communication. To this end, consideration has been given to forming a national Coordinating Board, with representatives from the national government, the Ministry of the Interior, municipalities, and the Guatemalan Tourism Institute. For the private sector, the Guatemalan Chamber of Tourism (CAMTUR) and the Guatemalan Development Foundation (FUNDESA) would provide this coordination. The Foundation is a nongovernmental entity which regards the tourist sector as essential and increasingly important to the national development process.

        As regards budgetary aspects and sources of financing to ensure the satisfactory and effective operation of this police force, the participating entities are still in the process of evaluating various possibilities. In any event, there is consensus that since this is a multi-institutional project, the required contributions should come from the aforesaid participating entities, to one degree or another. The possibility of obtaining technical and/or financial cooperation from a foreign government or international agency has not been ruled out.

        It is logical to assume that the project on the Municipal Tourist Police will be implemented gradually, as the budget permits. The pilot plan will be developed both in the area of La Aurora International Airport and in the hotel district in Guatemala City, as well as in Antigua Guatemala, a top tourist attraction, which at the present time is visited by approximately 40% of foreign tourists coming to the country.

        Our community is implementing this project in response to the security problems that have been encountered in recent years, a situation which is not unique to our country, as I pointed out earlier. We are aware that our project will not totally eradicate the existing problems, but we are sure that it will at least attenuate them. In any event, we must accept the fact that both in Guatemala as well as in the majority of countries, there will always be security problems that will affect both tourists and residents. This means that not only will we have to learn how to live with them, but also, and more importantly, how to prevent them and solve them as they arise.