THEFT can happen anywhere and tourist hotspots are convenient places for criminals to target holidaymakers' wallets and purses while they are busy taking in the sites.
Quotezone.co.uk founder and chief executive officer Greg Wilson said new research shows that thousands of people have complained about items being stolen while experiencing the best that Europe has to offer.
Italy leads the list of countries where pickpocketing is most likely, according to the European Pickpocketing Index published by Quotezone.co.uk. This ranking is based on the percentage of mentions of pickpocketing in visitors' reviews of each nation's top five tourist attractions.
A total of 1,906 Tripadvisor reviews from visitors to Italy's Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Pantheon in Rome, as well as the Duomo di Milano in Milan and Gallerie Degli Uffizi in Florence mentioned their experience with having their items stolen.
This equates to 463 pickpocketing mentions for every million British visitors to Italy's top tourist attractions — the highest proportion of any European country.
France has the second highest number of pickpocketing mentions at 283 per million visitors, with all five attractions monitored being in Paris.
The Netherlands ranked third on the pickpocketing index despite being only the ninth most visited country by the Brits.
Despite Barcelona's reputation for pickpocketing, Spain — the most popular holiday destination for British tourists — only came sixth on the list with five times fewer mentions of theft than Italy.
With only 30 pickpocketing mentions per million visitors, the Republic of Ireland, which is ranked ninth, appears to offer travellers a reasonable level of security for their belongings.
Wilson added that iconic attractions like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Trevi Fountain in Rome are particularly popular with pickpockets as they can move more inconspicuously amid larger crowds.
"Many holidaymakers are unaware that some of the most popular destinations have some of the highest incidents of petty theft in Europe," he said, adding that it is essential to always remain vigilant, leave valuables like expensive jewellery in a safe at the hotel and travel with a crossbody bag with zips or a money bag to secure phones and wallets.
Don't leave personal belongings unattended because travel insurance companies require travellers to take care of their items. Claims for theft could be rejected due to travellers' own negligence.
"It is also important to remember to get a police report for the loss or theft of an item as this will support the insurance claim," Wilson said.
Remember to double-check what is and isn't covered in the travel insurance policy before heading to these destinations. Most travel insurance policies cover important documentation such as passports but rarely cover stolen cash and phones.
