Europe

Italy: Passport Controls Imposed for G8 Summit

Date: June 24th, 2009 |

Italy will reinstate passport controls within its Schengen borders for the G8 Summit to be held in L’Aquila July 8-10. The passport controls will be in place from June 28 to July 15. All travelers arriving in Italy will need to be prepared to show their passports to enter. The Schengen area comprises 25 European [read more]

Northern Ireland: Tour Bus Attacked in Belfast, Romanian Immigrants Leave

Date: June 24th, 2009 |

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A gang of five teenage boys hurled stones at an open-top tourist bus in west Belfast, breaking a window but injuring no one. The incident was the first of its kind for the tour company, but not so long ago during the troubles such attacks were a daily occurrence. Open-top bus tours of both east [read more]

Greece: Binge-Drinking by British Tourists Still Plagues Islands

Date: June 17th, 2009 |

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Unruly behavior by British tourists and others in island beach resorts has started off the summer season in just the way local authorities and residents had hoped to avoid. Binge drinking led to the rape of a British woman by fellow Britons in Mallia on Crete, and a Dutch woman was attacked by two Greeks [read more]

Portugal: Crime Rate Is Low, but Petty Crime Still Occurs

Date: June 17th, 2009 |

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The crime rate is low in Lisbon and around the country, but petty crime occurs as it does in most major cities. Pickpockets work Lisbon’s tourist areas and small-time drug dealers and con men commonly approach tourists. Police statistics show that overall crime is down but violent crime has increased slightly, led by a 10 [read more]

France and Spain: ETA Threatens Violence before Summer

Date: May 27th, 2009 |

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In an interview with a Basque newspaper, two members of the Basque separatist group ETA threatened a campaign of violence before the summer. One was quoted as saying ETA would attack tourists and Britons seeking second homes in southwestern France’s Basque region, claiming the outsiders were destroying the region’s culture and heritage. Two years ago [read more]

Latvia: Crimes Against Tourists Increasing in Riga

Date: June 24th, 2009 |

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The crime rate in Latvian cities is moderate compared to U.S. cities of similar size, but crime still exists, especially in Riga, Latvia’s main draw for foreign tourists. Since 2008 Riga has seen a trend of extortion and intimidation in bars, clubs and lounges where foreigners are presented with a bill from a separate menu [read more]

Spain: Thousands Protest ETA Killing

Date: June 24th, 2009 |

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Tens of thousands of people marched in Bilbao to protest the killing of a police investigator June 19 by the Basque separatist group ETA. The public outrage in the Basque region over the death of the officer, who headed an anti-terror unit, suggests that ETA’s violent tactics have little support among the populace it claims [read more]

Italy: Mafia Ex-Cons Now Show Tourists Around Naples

Date: June 17th, 2009 |

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In a novel way to help ex-convicts avoid returning to a life of crime in the Camorra mafia, Campania authorities have trained about 70 of them to help tourists negotiate the streets and alleys of Naples. They wear yellow jackets, caps and ID cards and are posted at tourist areas around the city, including the [read more]

Russia: Threat to Moscow Markets

Date: June 3rd, 2009 |

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The U.S. Embassy in Moscow reported that it has information about a potential threat targeting market areas in Moscow frequented by Central Asian and Caucasian immigrants. The threat purportedly came from a Russian nationalist group and specifically mentioned Cherkizovskiy Market, adjacent to Izamailovsky Park, as a potential target. Russian law enforcement authorities are assessing the [read more]

France: Bees Swarm, Sting Tourists at Art Gallery

Date: May 20th, 2009 |

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Three British women were swarmed by thousands of bees and one was stung 500 times in an attack at an art gallery in Moulidars, near the town of Cognac. All three were hospitalized but recovered. Why the attack occurred is hard to pinpoint, but a British bee expert said such incidents with the European honey [read more]