The deadly overseas destination claiming the most Aussie lives

Last year more than 1,600 Australian travellers died overseas and 1,701 were hospitalised, which is equivalent to a hospitalisation or death occurring every 2.5 hours, new research from finder.com.au has found.

But there is one particular spot claiming significantly more Aussie lives than anywhere else in the world, with travellers being told to beware of South East Asia.

One third of all Australian overseas deaths in 2017 were attributed to just four countries in this area: Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

A massive 523 deaths were recorded in these popular travel destinations, equalling around one Australian dying every 17 hours.

Despite only coming in at fifth on the list of most popular travel destinations for Australians, Thailand had the highest rate of deaths and hospitalisations for our travellers.

“An Australian dies or is hospitalised in Thailand every day, making it one of the most problematic destinations for Australian travellers,” finder.com.au Travel Insurance Expert, Bessie Hassan, said.

Thailand welcomes around half a million Australian visitors every year, and it is no secret that it has become one of the most dangerous spots for Aussie travellers.

For each 100,000 travellers to Thailand last year, there was a rate of 38 deaths and 37 hospitalisations.

According to Ms Hassan, illness and natural causes were the main causes of overseas deaths, with accidents coming in at number three.

In total 3,354 Aussies were injured or killed while overseas last year, meaning every day nine travellers either lost their life or made a trip to the hospital.

In a scary statistic, Ms Hassan also said that nearly one Australian traveller was murdered overseas each week, with intentional killings rising from 47 in 2016 to 49 in 2017.

There are a number of things that Aussie travellers can do help make their trips safer, such as researching travel warnings for certain destinations and purchasing travel insurance.

“It’s always wise to look at Smartraveller’s list of travel warnings to stay across specific risks in certain countries,” Ms Hassan said.

“Travel insurance is important for an overseas trip, and the price of an insurance policy is often far less than a one night hospital stay in many countries.”