Tourism and Crime: An Australian Perspective

Abstract

In many parts of the world the scale of tourism is increasing and with it the potential for significant repercussions in host communities. One of the undesirable social consequences often assumed to flow from tourism is an increase in crime at resort destinations. A spatial and temporal analysis of the occurrence of crime was undertaken at selected tourist resorts in Australia to determine whether, and to what extent, tourism and crime are related. When compared with results from non-tourist "control" centers, statistical tests showed significant differences between the two samples in the type of offense, and the characteristics of offenders and victims. Seasonal bias was also revealed in the incidence of criminal behavior during the year, a finding which may have important implications for the work-loads of law enforcement agencies in tourist areas.