Foreigner Kidnapping Statistics + Tourism Stats

Let's look at the number of "foreigners" kidnapped in Colombia recently:

2004 - 2
2005 - 2
2006 - 4
2007& 8 - ? doubt it's more than the previous years.

Source - http://www.paislibre.org/images/PDF/secuestroestadisticasgenerales%202...

(see the "extranjero" line of the table "secruestros segun acumulado por profesiones")

Now lets look at visitor numbers by international arrivals:

2004 - 791,000 arrivals / tourists.
2005 - 933,000 arrivals / tourists.
2006 onwards - I don't have reliable data, but it's certainly over a million tourists per year.

In 2005, visitor numbers by country are:

USA - 235,000
Venezuela - 113,000
Ecuador - 95,000
Spain - 57,000
Peru - 44,000
Mexico - 42,000
Argentina - 34,000
Panama - 28,000
Brazil - 27,000
Costa Rica - 25,000
Canada -24,000
France - 23,000
Italy - 20,000
Chile - 19,000
Germany - 18,000
UK - 16,000

(Source of these figures is the World Tourism Organisation's "Tourism Market Trends" publication with regards to the Americas which is sat on my desk - there's no link to it, you'll have to buy the book for about $100 or trust me!)

In conclusion - you're more likely to be struck by lightning than kidnapped as a tourist / foreigner in Colombia?

By PaisaTours.com on Oct 24, 2008, 09:53 in Friendly Talkzone.

Mononoke28 says on Oct 24, 2008, 10:14:

But not according to some people who think that the fact they're holding a US passport is a good reason to get kidnapped. =D

Diana

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PaisaTours.com says on Oct 24, 2008, 10:20:

they're paranoid - look at the stats!

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Mononoke28 says on Oct 24, 2008, 10:39:

I know. Great stats by the way. Thanks for posting them!

Diana

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PBHjon says on Oct 24, 2008, 11:10:

Chance of getting kidnapped as a foreigner, while in Colombia: 1 in 250,000
Chance of getting hit by one of these douchebag motorcyclists drive like madmen even when approaching pedestrian crosswalks: 1 in 10

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PaisaTours.com says on Oct 24, 2008, 11:36:

Look at the stats about those from USA kidnapped for example (see link at top):

2001 - 1
2002 - 1
2003 - 4
2004 - 1
2005 - 0
2006 - 1

Compare to visitor numbers from USA:

2003 - 171,000
2004 - 203,000
2005 - 235,000
2006 - 250,000 (guestimate)

Get over the paranoia! Recently the chance of getting kidnapped is 1 in half a million!

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yummyj says on Oct 24, 2008, 11:55:

the paranoia that comes with the US passport is almost as big as the (unfounded) ego.

Just because you have been to Colombia, that does NOT mean that you are anywhere near an expert on the place. Sorry. Truth hurts.

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ozgringo says on Oct 24, 2008, 12:07:

Yummy, That's why the space shuttle was invented..

tried to think of something deep to write here.. but couldn't think of anything..

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Robert Jorge says on Oct 26, 2008, 03:09:

HAH Rubito - Villavicencio is absolutely 100% "safe" for gringos!

But seriously, the above list is infintisimal statistically. I have a much greater risk of being murdered in Miami during the 2 day period that I am there, before travelling to Colombia. Wanna see Miami crime stats for the past 5 or 6 years?

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lpdiver says on Oct 26, 2008, 11:47:

Well...what you are doing has a WHOLE lot to do with the probablilty. Loud, obnoxious, participating in at risk activities, where you spend your time...etc.

ts

Remember what the monkey says, "Fuck money it's free"

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larryrn says on Oct 27, 2008, 08:50:

if you come to Colombia 12 times a year, does this acount as 12 vistors or one (since it's the same person). In my travels I routinely bump into the same people coming and going to Medellin.. Larry

“Your source for Online Nursing CEUs” -- www.rn.org www.rnceu.us www.enfermeria.us www.enfermeriasite.com

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