Crime in New Tourism Destinations: The Mall of America

Mass tourism has resulted in the largest scale movement of goods, services and people in world history. Tourists\u27 safety and security have become of primary importance. This research presents a preliminary investigation of the general characteristics of crime at, and near, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, America\u27s largest mall. This recreation/shopping destination has quickly evolved into an international destination attracting an estimated 40 million visitors per year. Crime rates did increase with the building of the Mall of America. It does, however, account for less than 11 percent of monthly crime calls in the City of Bloomington. Furthermore, when comparing crime indexes of other cities, the Mall as a city would have a much lower crime rate than other places of comparable population