More Aussies behaving badly abroad: report
Aussie tourists are getting into more trouble overseas than ever before, according to a report from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
DFAT’s Consular State of Play report for 2015-16 shows increasing numbers of Australian tourists are being arrested, jailed, assaulted, hospitalised and robbed overseas.
The number of people arrested while overseas soared 23 per cent from 1256 in 2014-15 to 1551 in 2015-16, while the number of Australians imprisoned while travelling went up almost 5 per cent in the same period to 391 people.
The Consular State of Play report showed that Thailand was Australia’s busiest consular spot for Aussies in trouble, with 836 cases, up 25 per cent from the previous year.
The United States was the second busiest with 770 cases, followed by Indonesia (688), Italy (542) and the Philippines (447).
China was the country where Australians are most likely to be thrown in prison, with 61 cases, 30 of which were for fraud, followed by the US, Vietnam and Thailand, with the latter two being mostly for drug-related offences.
But the report also confirmed that Australians are travelling more than ever, with DFAT recording 10.2 million departures, a 5 per cent increase over 2014-15.
The 2015-16 Consular State of Play, shows of the 10.2 million Aussies who travelled abroad, government assistance was provided to 15,740 people, down slightly from the 15,824 the previous year.
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