When you have lemons, make lemonade

Orlando Makes Orbitz Top 10 Destination List

My first thought after reading the above article, was here comes more unsuspecting tourists from around the world into our area who will not fully realize the serious potential for personal theft, hotel burglaries, vehicle theft, armed robberies, car jackings, supermarket shootouts, and other violent crimes that are occurring here in the greater Orlando area on a daily basis, or even the occasional bus hijacking or fast food restaurant shootings. It is kind of ironic that while we are listed in the top ten tourist destinations, at the same time we are ranked as the eleventh most dangerous city in America out of 378 cities surveyed. At the rate we are going, I am sure that our ranking in the dangerous city category might even move up a few notches in next year’s survey.

I guess there is no accurate way to monitor how much the steadily increasing crime is adversely affecting our tourist industry, so maybe we should consider getting more creative so that we can maximize our tourist industry dollars during this troubled economy. Instead of having our unsuspecting tourists responding with shock and disbelief, maybe we could offer Law Enforcement Adventure Vacation Packages for those who like to watch TV shows such as COPS, and use this approach to put a more positive spin on the situation. When an innocent citizen is attacked, pistol whipped, robbed at gunpoint or shot and the suspect flees, we can offer ride along packages with our local law enforcement so that the Adventure Tourist can get a front seat view of the persuit (much better than a dash cam) and the takedown. When a suspect robs a local children's eatery armed with an assault rifle, or when an armed perpetrator flees the crime scene and barricades themselves in a residential neighborhood, we can offer a package where the Adventure Tourist can get suited up in full protective equipment and ride along with SWAT team members into the area in an armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee), or APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) and observe the tactical operation from a closer perspective, with the option of purchasing a CD copy of the operation to share their adventure vacation experience with other family members. This way we could recoup the costs of the operation while increasing our Adventure Tourist's level of customer satisfaction. I know it is wishful thinking, but maybe we could even negotiate a deal where some of the the perpetrators could dress up as theme park cast members. If the Adventure Vacation idea takes off, then maybe we can open up affiliate programs in Beirut Lebanon and Falujah Iraq for those who enjoy adventure, but wish to experience it in an area that is less hostile than Orlando.