As summer 2024 is here, holidaymakers are facing the serious risk of being scammed. From fake tours to fake police , the team at Slingo has researched destinations where scams worry tourists, and offered tips to protect your holiday from fraudsters. The number of TripAdvisor forum posts for each particular destination mentioning the word ‘scam’ has been collated, and the percentage compared to the overall number of posts was then calculated.
Istanbul takes the top spot as the city where tourists are most concerned about scams. Of a total of 49,030 posts relating to visiting the city, 1,090 of these were discussing the topic of scams. This makes for a 2.
22% share of the total posts on the dedicated forum, the highest of any of the destinations investigated. Istanbul sees plenty of tourists visiting every year with highlights including the Hagia Sophia Mosque, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. Many forum posts speak of scams involving taxi customers who were told their notes were not acceptable, leading to them unknowingly paying extra for fares.
In second place is Budapest in Hungary. 1.82% of the capital city’s forum posts were discussing scams, equal to 450 out of a total of 24,639 posts.
The city is home to iconic architecture like the Buda Castle and the Hungarian Parliament Buildings, both of which are big draws for tourists. Forum posts commonly refer to scams whereby two women approach intoxicated men encouraging them to follow, only to lead to money being tak.
