In a joint effort to strengthen security and provide immediate assistance for tourists visiting the country, authorities inaugurated the Tourist Police 9-1-1 Operations Center yesterday. The center is strategically located in the heart of the capital, specifically on the south side of San José’s Central Park.
The new operations center will enable an immediate and personalized response to situations involving tourists, streamlining inter-agency coordination, facilitating communication, and ensuring the efficient deployment of resources. It also allows for the collection, analysis, and use of emergency data to identify criminal patterns and high-risk areas. This intelligence will be key in designing effective security strategies, optimizing resource allocation, and preventing future incidents.
Minister of Public Security Mario Zamora highlighted the importance of this new tool for the Tourist Police, which not only provides public security services but also offers direct assistance to the thousands of tourists who explore every corner of Costa Rica.
Currently, the Tourist Police employs 317 specialized officers. More than half of them are fluent in English, and a smaller percentage are proficient in additional languages, enhancing their ability to serve a diverse range of international visitors.
“The Costa Rican Tourism Institute would like to congratulate the Ministry of Public Security, and especially the Tourist Police, on the launch of the 9-1-1 Tourism hotline,” said Minister of Tourism William Rodríguez. “The creation of a direct line for incidents, emergencies, or cases involving foreign tourists is a significant achievement in improving service for travelers and strengthening visitor safety.”
The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) has played a pivotal role in supporting this initiative, contributing financially to the construction and opening of new Tourist Police stations in Tamarindo, Playa Panamá, and most recently in Cahuita and Santa Teresa. Plans are already underway to begin construction of another station in Jacó, all of which are high-traffic tourist destinations.
In addition to infrastructure, the ICT has provided equipment, supplies, and training to ensure that specialized officers are equipped with the necessary skills and multilingual capabilities to serve and protect tourists. These developments were made possible through agreements with the Ministry of Public Security.
While the national 9-1-1 system already includes operational offices, the establishment of an operations center exclusively for the Tourist Police represents a major step toward a security model focused on the protection of visitors. It aims to serve as a bridge between first responders, the tourism sector, and the diplomatic corps.
