HK tourists' nightmare at Italian Couchsurfing host's home shows how travel sites can be a path to danger
Recent cases of sexual assault in different parts of the world highlight the risk of independent travel
More and more Hongkongers are travelling overseas independently, encouraged by the growing popularity of travel websites such as Couchsurfing and Airbnb.
But the rising trend in travellers making their own accommodation and transportation arrangements through the internet can be a double-edged sword. While it can make trips less expensive it can also be fraught with danger.
Recent cases that highlight the inherent risks include a former police officer in Italy who lured more than a dozen young women from around the world - including two from Hong Kong - to his apartment near Venice through the Couchsurfing website before allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting them.
The man, Dino Maglio, is due to appear in court next month on the charges and is currently in detention after he breached bail conditions that banned him from using the site.
It is not the first time Couchsurfing has come under fire over safety concerns. In 2009 a Hong Kong woman, 29, was raped by her host, a Moroccan national, who offered her a room in his apartment in Leeds, England. He is now serving a 10-year jail sentence.
And last month, a 34-year-old Spanish man was jailed for almost 12 years for raping two American women, both in their mid-20s, who had booked a room at his apartment in Barcelona via Airbnb in 2011.
Jennifer Billock, the chief executive of Couchsurfing, would not disclose how many people had stayed with Maglio, who used his position as a police officer to gain members' trust, or how long he had been a member.