These are the most expensive countries for repatriation to Australia
Trekking in Peru or traipsing around the States? Be careful.
Overseas medical expenses and evacuation can be a costly endeavour, particularly for those without the appropriate insurance policy. New research by Allianz Global Assistance reveals the leading countries with the highest average costs paid for repatriation services back to Australia.
Travellers to Peru in South America, on average, forked out the most for repatriation to Australia. The data shows there were three reported incidents of repatriation from Peru, averaging $169,337 per person.
Travellers visiting the United States suffered the second-highest costs for the use of repatriation services, with nine incidents recorded by the bureau at an average $164,091 per person.
Visitors to Switzerland ($155,641), Canada ($130,118), Macedonia ($107,250), Mongolia ($106,530), Zimbabwe ($104,972) and Bali ($103,194) all incurred costs exceeding an average $100,000 per person.
Although average costs were considerably low ($7,717), the greatest number of repatriations to Australia were from Nepal (15), popular among tourists for mountain climbing, trekking and trail adventures.
Top 20 countries with the highest repatriation costs:
| Destination | Average cost |
|---|---|
| Peru | $ 169,337 |
| United States of America | $ 164,091 |
| Switzerland | $ 155,641 |
| Canada | $ 130,118 |
| Macedonia | $ 107,250 |
| Mongolia | $ 106,530 |
| Zimbabwe | $ 104,972 |
| Cambodia | $ 97,191 |
| Zambia | $ 93,456 |
| United Arab Emirates | $ 87,736 |
| Spain | $ 83,944 |
| France | $ 80,671 |
| Philippines | $ 78,331 |
| Cyprus | $ 74,466 |
| Brazil | $ 69,132 |
| China | $ 65,685 |
| Greece | $ 62,952 |
| Seychelles | $ 62,516 |
| Vietnam | $ 59,766 |
| Hong Kong | $ 58,658 |
Additional research exposed the dangerous and sometimes deadly occurrence of holiday drink spiking.
Analysts at finder.com.au scoured the ABS' top destinations for short-term resident departures and compared these with relevant Smartraveller warnings to find the leading travel destinations with drink spiking. Around 1.25 million Aussies travelled to Indonesia in 2016, where drink spiking occurs frequently.
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