The National Tourist Safety Commission (CONSETUR) suggests the creation of a safety committee in each tourism chamber in the country, this with the purpose of building a safer destination for domestic and international travelers and in order to carry out preventative measures in the areas of the country they represent.

The project will be led by the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR), which holds one of the seats on CONSETUR, alongside the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), the Public Safety Ministry, the Police Force, the Judicial Investigation Organization, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic and the Embassy of the United States of America, explains the press release of the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

Some 40 safety committees would be formed, corresponding to an equal number of chambers of tourism, according to the Executive Director of CANATUR, Shirley Calvo.

“We are pleased that the private sector is partnering with the public sector to meet the challenge of guaranteeing the destination’s safety”, said the Minister of Tourism, Maria Amalia Revelo. “The Public Safety Ministry requires all of the assistance we are capable of lending to make Costa Rica a safer country”, she added.

Last week, the President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado, announced that ICT would transfer $1 million each year over the next four years from its budget to be invested in tourist safety. The annual sum would be equal to the amount contributed by this institution over the previous 12 years.

Some of this will be invested in equipment for the Tourist Police, as well as the development of an app with safety tips and important information for domestic and international tourists, the first version of which will launch in December 2018, at the beginning of the busy season. Finally, the investment will pay for the training of 4,000 business leaders from the tourism sector and an awareness-raising campaign that will call on the public to take care of one another.

The first 1,000 business leaders will be trained in commercial tourist safety within the framework of the CANATUR Congress on November 14-15. The training will be facilitated by security specialists from the tourism sector.

CONSETUR will consider the creation of a certification in security matters for tourism companies, to be granted by ICT.

Costa Rica is looking for ways to make the country a safer destination, after the murder of two foreign tourist in the past two weeks in Costa Rica.