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Published Thursday, February 27,
2020
New app for tourist safety By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The National Commission for Tourism Security, together with the Judicial Investigation Agency and the U. S. Embassy launched Wednesday a free application that lets tourists find advice on crimes, emergency phone numbers or offices of the judicial police. The app is called OIJ Costa Rica Safe. According to the commission the process of creating the app began last year. The application can be installed in English or Spanish. After being installed, the app will keep sending alerts even if the device it is on does not have internet access. A tourist who enters the country can download the app at any port of entry, air or land. It can be downloaded from the applications option of any device under the name OIJCRSafe, or right from the judicial police site. After the app is installed, it can be used anywhere in the country, even if the device does not have internet access, authorities said. The application for tourists has the following services: • Emergency Numbers: direct access to 911 numbers and other important numbers in case the user want to ask additional questions. • Police guide: Contact information of the managers of the different offices of the Judicial Investigation Agency. • Tips: Useful advice provided by the agents for tourists. • Social media: Direct access to the official media of the Judicial Investigation Agency on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. • A form for send confidential information or complaints to agents. • Office locations, divided by color on a map or in a drop-down list, as well as a fast route between the person and the selected office. • Notifications to receive useful advice in different areas of the country, such as airports, beaches, transport terminals (bus and train) and official car rental agencies. Once active, the user must keep the application in the background, to receive the advice. When turning on notifications, the service must have access to the internet to upload the information, once it is turned on, it can be used offline while keeping it in the background, the officials said. Also, the application shows notifications to provide advice to the tourist in any zone of the country such as beaches, airport, tourist zones, among others. According to data provided by the council during 2019, the country received 3,139,008 tourists, which represents an increase of 4% compared to 2018. According to Walter Espinoza Espinoza, director of the Judicial Investigation Agency, the actions to protect tourists are very important because the industry "generates a strong income for the national economy." During 2019, tourists generated $4 billion in income. "This makes authorities pay more and more attention to safety for tourists," said the council in its statement. Authorities plans for this year are to create more local tourism safety committees, create an organization of representatives of the communities tourism chambers and develop an information system of preventive measures for tourists.  In January the U.S. State Department shocked Costa Rica when it told travelers to take more precautions here. The country crime warning was reduced from the top level I to level 2. The U.S. secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, on his visit to the country in January and in a meeting with President Carlos Alvarado, said that his agency will review the decision on a Costa Rican crime. The country still was listed at level 2 on the State Department website Wednesday night. In responding to urgings that the U.S. return Costa Rica to its previous classification, Pompeo said "We're going to take a look at this. There’s a process inside the State Department. There was a question about - how this decision’s made. It's inside the State Department with respect to our travel advisories. We’ll take a look at it. We want to make sure we get it right. We’ll also communicate with them and say, hey, here’s the things that - if we can change, if we can make better, here’s how we get to the right place. " According to Pompeo, a million and a half-plus Americans traveled to Costa Rica last year. "I am confident that we will have a million and a half-plus Americans come to travel again. I hope there'll be more. I know you hope there'll be more as well. I'm very confident that people who are coming here - people who are coming here for travel and leisure, people who are coming here to do business - will continue to do so. " In discussing the method of establishing the travel advisory, Pompeo said "What we try to do with our travel advisory is just make sure that we're sharing with the American people things that we identify as concerns. We always want to make sure we get it right. It's something we constantly evaluate and review. I've asked - the president asked if we would do that again, and we will certainly do so here as quickly as we can. " Alvarado said he requested the revision of the classification because "the classification for us is not so much a direct economic impact. It's got to do with reputation, and we've talked about that because the country has made a great effort in reducing its crime rates. It's reduced the homicide rates in the last two years in a consistent fashion and has offered more security of the three million visitors we have had. The crime rate that they suffered is 0.02%. crimes. It does not attempt to their life. So this has got to do with reputations. " Alvarado also added that "We do not face terrorist threats, and we - now that the ranking has gone down, we share that classification with countries that have over 50 death per a hundred thousand, when ours is 11 every hundred thousand. So it has got to do with reputation, and that is what we made a request very respectfully for that to be revisited by the secretary and his team, given it's so important for us in terms of the alliance, cooperation, and partnership between our two countries. " Pompeo also justified his trip to Costa Rica by saying that "Our administration has made a real priority of reaching out to our friends in the Western Hemisphere, and there has indeed been no better friend than Costa Rica to the United States of America. Your country has done great work in supporting human rights, the rule of law, democracy, it grounds our relationship, you're an incredible supporter of freedom in our region. -------------------------------- Will you use the OIJCRSafe application? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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