The Bahamas has for years been marketed as paradise, but a new article published by one of the world’s most visited travel sites, said it’s anything but.

Trip.com in a recently published article entitled “Top 10 Most Dangerous Places for Women Travelers and How to Stay Safe” ranked The Bahamas number six, its reason being that that New Providence has a criminal threat that’s rated by the U.S. State Department as critical.

The survey, listed The Bahamas just behind Peru and ahead of Colombia on its “Least Safe Countries for Solo Female Travelers.”

The survey noted while women travelers reported “no issues” and encountered “very friendly people” in The Bahamas, it is “better” for them to “stay in populated areas.”

The survey was conducted by Trip.com’s Solo Female Travel Team.

The story was picked up by popular international business magazine Forbes and published on its website Forbes.com.

The Bahama Journal asked Acting Commissioner Anthony Ferguson for his response to the article and he simply dismissed the site’s piece.

“You have to take into appreciation that those surveys are done as per capita, The Bahamas is not as large as those other countries in the world so if you’re not careful you can really paint a picture that really does not depict The Bahamas,” Mr. Ferguson said.

The U.S. State Department’s report has warned that areas of Nassau referred to as “Over-the-Hill” should be avoided, 2016 saw a 26 per cent drop in serious crimes and 24 per cent fewer murders than 2015’s record high.