Chapter 3 Violent crime and tourists

Abstract

Given limitations of space, this chapter is restricted to a conventional legal definition of violent crime as involving harm or the intent to harm. Even using this restricted definition, though, violence can take many forms, varying for example according to motive or the extent of injury. Perhaps for this reason, evidence of an overall relationship between tourism and victimisation is less clear-cut than in the case of property crime. This chapter therefore focuses on three scenarios which involve tourists as the victims of violent crime: - Teens and 20s holidays; - Homicide, especially but not exclusively against backpackers; - Politically motivated attacks against tourists and tourist centres. Using the model introduced in the previous chapter, it is argued that disproportionate risk might be explained in terms of: rewards, victim status, guardianship and accessibility.