Bangkok among cities with higher rates of tourist fraud reported, report warns
The Thai capital was listed among cities where tourists report higher rates of scams, with taxi and car rental frauds the most common
A recent report has identified Bangkok as among the cities where tourists report relatively higher rates of travel-related fraud, primarily due to the prevalence of taxi and car rental scams, which make up nearly half of all incidents reported by visitors.
In addition to the Thai capital, the Mastercard Economics Institute report also noted higher reported fraud exposure in cities such as Cancun in Mexico, Hanoi in Vietnam and Dhaka in Bangladesh.
Published last Tuesday, the report – which did not rank cities in terms of fraud levels – emphasised that the tourism sector was one of the most susceptible industries to fraudulent activities. Alarmingly, the incidence of fraud within travel agencies and tour booking services is four times greater than the average seen across other sectors, underscoring the urgent need for vigilance among travellers.
Scams surged during peak travel seasons, with fraud rates rising over 18 per cent at summer destinations and 28 per cent at winter ones. The nature of scams differs by location, the report noted.
Issues with taxis and car rentals account for a mere 2 per cent of reported fraud cases in Hong Kong and Barcelona, Spain, but this figure jumps to 66 per cent in Jakarta, Indonesia and 48 per cent in Bangkok.
“In some destinations, you might find that most fraud originates from the travel sector and tour companies, while in other cities, fraud might occur in other businesses, such as food services,” David Mann, Chief Economist for Asia-Pacific at the Mastercard Economics Institute, told CNBC on May 16.