Beware: the most dangerous place on earth for Aussie travellers

Beware: the most dangerous place on earth for Aussie travellers

Not to turn you off travelling or anything, but it turns out it might be a bit dangerous.

In fact, research from Finder.com.au has revealed an Australian is hospitalised or dies overseas every 2.5 hours.

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The findings came from Finder’s analysis of DFAT data, which showed 1,701 Aussies were hospitalised last year and a further 1,615 died.

Spooky, we know.

According to Insurence Expert at Finder, Bessie Hassan, Illnesses, natural causes and accidents are the top three reasons why Australians are passing away overseas.

And when we look at South East Asia, the results become a little bit more concentrated.

Just four countries made up one-third of all Aussie deaths overseas recorded in 2017.

Yep, Australia’s favourite travel destination is also the deadliest.

A huge 523 deaths were recorded in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, which works out at one every 17 hours.

The fifth most visited destination for Aussies, Thailand, managed to top the list for both deaths and hospitalisation, with 3,354 deaths or injuries in 2017.

“Thailand is one of the most problematic destinations for Aussie travellers, with one hospitalisation or death every day,” said Hassan.

“When booking your holiday make sure to check Smartraveller to see if there are any warnings or alerts for your planned destination,” she said,

“Travel insurance will knock back any claims from destinations the government recommends avoiding.”

“A travel insurance policy for your trip will typically cost far less than a hospital stay in many countries, so take this into account when booking.”

Please remind us to wrap ourselves in bubble wrap and bulk buy hand sanitizer for our next overseas trip.

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