Tourism, Crime and Rurality

The dominant images of tourism are romanticized visions of majestic mountains, azure oceans, white sand beaches, historic monuments, grand examples of architecture, exotic cultural settings and, of course, a happy, smiling tourist couple or parents with children in-hand, enthralled by the wonders before them. Nowhere in a brochure is there an image of a tourist frantically searching for his attaché case which housed his laptop, stolen whilst he waited in line to register at a hotel, or the panicked visage of a woman whose wallet is missing from a purse slung over her shoulders whilst she stood with a group of her friends about to board an excursion boat - both were the victims of well-trained and experienced thieves, individuals whose presence is as ubiquitous as the attractions themselves.