Rampant Crime Could Hit Rio de Janeiro’s Tourism Hard

The ongoing escalation of crime in Rio de Janeiro could bring negative ripple effects to the city’s travel industry, as recently shown by a local TV station that aired footage of massive holdups at a beach.

Fearful that criminality could shoo foreign tourists away, the nation’s Attorney General is calling municipal and regional authorities to account over lack of security in Rio’s beaches.

The home video shows a gang of some forty children and teenagers mugging foreign swimmers in broad daylight at Leblon Beach, one of Rio’s most sought-after destinations and a symbol of Brazilian tourism.

In 2003, as many as 1.5 million trippers visited Rio de Janeiro and spent $1.7 billion, a figure officials believe should climb even higher as the city cracks the cherished two-million-tourist plateau later this year.