One crime is committed against a visitor to Ireland almost every day of the year according to a new report from a support group for tourists who are victims of crime.
In its report for 2004 the Tourist Victim Support Service (TVSS) said 353 crimes were committed against tourists, affecting 561 people.
Larceny is still by far the most common type of crime, accounting for 190 cases or 53 per cent of all crimes. The next most common crime was theft from cars which accounted for 52 cases, almost two-thirds of which were from hire cars.
Last year saw an increase of four in the number of violent crimes, aggravated larceny, assaults and robberies. There were also two cases of sexual assault last year. There were none reported in 2003.
The report said assistance had been offered to the family of Bettina Poeschel who was murdered in Donore, Co. Meath in September 2001 when a man was charged with her killing. The TVSS assisted the family in erecting a memorial at the site where her body was found.
Ms Poeschel was murdered in Donore, Co Meath in September 2001. Her body was discovered three weeks after her disappearance. TVSS assisted the family in erecting a memorial in honour of Bettina at the site where her body was found. A TVSS representative accompanied the family to the court and dealt with the media.
Two-thirds of the referrals came from Dublin with Wicklow, Louth, Galway, Corkm Clare, Kerry and Limerick the sites of the majority of the remaining crimes.
American visitors were the most frequent victims of crime, accounting for 17 per cent of all cases. More than 13 per cent of the tourist crime victims were from Britain, closely followed by Italian visitors.
Trasy Doran, co-ordinator of TVSS said the aim of the service is to reduce the impact of crime on tourists to end them to complete their holiday plans. She said that Ireland was not a dangerous place for tourists and that 85 per cent of tourists affected by crime continued their holiday following assistance.
The service aims to help victims of crime by arranging to replace tickets, offering financial assistance, transport and to help with language difficulties or medical needs.
Ms Doran said that while the service received generous support from airlines and hotels funding to run the service remains limited and she called for structured funding for the service.