Welcome to NZ - a land of petty crime and dodgy roads

A leading British insurance provider has warned travellers of the dangers prevalent when visiting New Zealand.

Aviva, the largest insurance services provider in the United Kingdom, has released findings on travel hot-spots around the globe, listing the countries most likely to pose a risk to tourists based on its claims database.

While Thailand leads the list, appearing in almost every category as a "hotbed for theft, tummy problems, traffic accidents and lost belongings", and South Africa comes out on top for robbery with violence, New Zealand also appears on three lists.

It is rated fourth behind Thailand, South Africa and India as the most dangerous country to drive in, and features highly for incidents of theft against British tourists, coming in at fourth place behind Thailand, South Africa and islands in the Caribbean.

British tourists also report more lost or misplaced belongings while visiting New Zealand.

The National Party's tourism spokesman, David Carter, said he was disappointed by the survey's results.

"New Zealand appears to be developing a reputation for petty crime and dodgy roads," he said.

"Perhaps if the Government had set sensible police priorities earlier, we could have dealt with this poor perception.

"And if the roading crisis had been taken seriously, we would have fewer accidents."

Mr Carter said tourism was now vital to the New Zealand economy and the country could not afford to have its "image sullied by a perception of lawlessness and petty crime".

Aviva's research revealed the safest countries for travelling Brits were in Western Europe.

Ireland came out on top, followed by Belgium, Holland, Germany and France.

HOW WE RATE

Lost/misplaced items

1 Thailand.
2 Mexico.
3 Caribbean.
4 Australia.
5 New Zealand.

Road accidents

1 Thailand.
2 South Africa.
3 India.
4 New Zealand.
5 Canada.

Theft

1 Thailand.
2 South Africa.
3 Caribbean.
4 New Zealand.
5 Mexico.

Source: www.aviva.com