The China Post
Date: December 2, 2016
By: Kuan-lin Liu
Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of West Asian and African Affairs
People bustle about Istiklal Caddesi, a commercial avenue in Istanbul, Turkey that features popular restaurants and clothing stores. In recent years, Istanbul has become a popular destination for Taiwanese nationals looking to vacation abroad. (Yuan-Ming Chiao, The China Post )
Antonio Chen (陳俊賢) cautioned Taiwanese tourists to be “mindful of overly-friendly locals” when traveling abroad.
During a press conference on Thursday, Dec. 1, Chen said that several Taiwanese tourists visiting Istanbul, Turkey had recently reported cases of con and swindling by locals.
In most scenarios, Chen explained, a friendly local would approach Taiwanese tourists and offer to take them sightseeing. Given that these locals did not present themselves as official tour guides, most tourists believed them to be friendly strangers offering a free service.
The locals would then proceed to take the tourists around the city, eventually ending up at a pre-determined restaurant or bar that was in cahoots with these locals. The restaurant or bar would overcharge the tourists for food and split the proceeds with the locals who took them there. In some cases, Chen reported, the meal would be two to three times more expensive than an average meal in the city. [FULL STORY]
