BANGKOK, May 21 -- A new report by the Mastercard Economics Institute has flagged Thailand's capital city as a high-risk destination for tourists, particularly for fraud involving taxis and car rentals.

These two services account for a staggering 48 per cent of all reported fraud cases in the city.

"Once payment is made, the tour may never materialise or may differ entirely from what was advertised," Mastercard Economics Institute said in its study on 2025 travel trends released May 15.

The study, which has been widely covered by global outlets including US broadcaster CNBC, paints a troubling picture of the global tourism industry.

It identifies travel-related services such as tour packages and agency bookings as four times more like...