United Kingdom
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Asia Pacific
Thailand: No place for bikies
LONDON – British tourists are more likely to be killed in Thailand than any other destination, according to new figures.
Motorbike accidents are the main reason why 269 Britons died there last year, according to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
The BBC reported that the figures mean that Thailand has the highest rate of deaths in proportion to the number of British tourists of any country worldwide.
In the year to March, an estimated 860,000 British tourists visited Thailand.
This figure also makes Thailand the country where, proportionately, British tourists are most likely to end up in hospital, according to the FCO’s British Behaviour Abroad report.
The majority of 324 reported hospitalisations in Thailand were due to motorbike accidents, says the FCO, and a high proportion are fatal.
On the dangers of visiting Thailand, the organisation says, “Thailand has one of the world’s highest road traffic accident rates, almost all of which involve motorbikes.”
Thai law that states safety helmets must be worn is widely ignored according to the FCO, which contributes to the high number of deaths each year.
On average 38 people a day die in motorcycle accidents in Thailand.
The FCO report also found that Britons abroad are more likely to be arrested in the UAE than anywhere else in the world.
Just under 300 British residents and tourists were arrested in the Emirates over the past year, an increase of 28 percent from the year before, according to the <i>British Behaviour Abroad</i> report.
Key concerns are drink and drug related offences, according to the report.
Ian Jarrett
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