Dominica: In wake of the recent spate of brutal attacks on tourists, the latest being against a French family during which a young member of the family was raped, hoteliers here have called for a bipartisan approach to tackle violent crime targeting tourists visiting the island, according to a Dominica News Online report.
President of the Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association (DHTA), Yvonne Armour, at a news conference called to address the problem, said the actions “of a few threaten now only the tourism sector and our economy, but also the very fabric of Dominican society…Our first step is to encourage bipartisan support for a resolution to be tabled in parliament today … expressing outrage on the part of parliament and calling for urgent action by all political parties.”
Armour said with tourism bringing EC$143 million dollars into the country’s coffers, Dominica could not afford to have that industry disrupted. She said the recent attacks, three different ones within a matter of days, couldn’t be allowed to continue. “We’ve had members of the DHTA who have had cancellations so far,” she said, confirming as well that persons were calling the hotels to inquire how safe Dominica was, given what appears to be a growing trend, according to the DNO report.
A number of DHTA past presidents at the news conference including the Garraway Hotel’s Judith Pestaina, supported calls for a more visible police presence.
Hotelier Sam Raphael said the escalating crime situation was a worrying trend, one that could threaten the livelihood of Dominica.
Another Hotelier Atherton Martin, suggested the implementation of an early warning system by getting people to use their cell phones to alert the police when criminal acts are being committed.
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