Streams of Accolades for Thai Tourism

British readers of a leading travel and lifestyle magazine have rated Thailand as one of their most popular long-haul holiday destinations.

They have also lauded Thailand's accommodation, airline and health & spa facilities as being of high quality and great value for money. 

Readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine, which has a total circulation of 72,151 and readership of 355,000, were polled on the basis of first-hand experience of their worldwide holidays.

The awards recognised the 20 best in each of ten categories: airlines, airports, car rental, cities, countries, cruise lines, hotels, islands, spas, and tour operators. 

The readers voted Thailand second place with an overall score of 93.67%, after Australia (93.87%). Thailand received the highest score of 97.18% in the people/hospitality criteria. 

Phuket and Samui were voted 7th and 10th best island resorts respectively while Thai Airways International was rated the 3rd best international long-haul airline.

Among 20 awardees in the Overseas Leisure Hotel, Asia, category, seven were in Thailand.

These included in 1st place the Amanpuri in Phuket (with a score of 92.05%), 5th The Oriental in Bangkok (85.38%), 10th The Banyan Tree Hotel, Phuket (80.12%), 12th The Sukhothai in Bangkok (79.81%), 14th The Regent Chiang Mai Resort & Spa (79.12%), 16th Rayavadee Premier Resort in Krabi (76.58%) and 19th The Chedi in Phuket (75.65%). 

The Peninsula in Bangkok ranked the 14th best Overseas Business Hotel.

Chiva-Som International Health Resort in Hua Hin won the world’s number one Destination Spa (92.58%) while The Regent Chiang Mai Resort & Spa was rated the 9th best Overseas Hotel Spa (79.14%).

These awards will be announced in a supplement mini-brochure to be inserted in the 5th Anniversary edition of Conde Nast Traveller magazine.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Mrs. Juthamas Siriwan commented, “We are most pleased with these awards which show that our industry professionals are always aspiring to higher standards of service and product excellence.

“Because promoting niche tourism products and services like health and spa is to be one of our main strategies in future, these awards will support our efforts in a big way.”

Arrivals from the UK totaled 517,974 in 2001, an increase of 8.73% over 2000. This figure represents 5.11% of total visitors to Thailand. The UK is Thailand's 8th largest market in terms of visitor arrivals by country of residence. During January-June 2002, British visitors to Thailand totaled 276,629, up 8.10% over the same period of 2001.

In another recent accolade, readers of TIME magazine have voted for Bangkok as the 2nd runner-up in the Favorite Holiday Destination category. The 2nd Annual TIME Readers’ Travel Choice Awards will be conferred on October 16, 2002 in Singapore. 

TIME International President & Publisher Mr. Andrew Butcher said, “TIME’s elite group of business travellers and decision-makers in Asia have chosen Bangkok as one of their preferred holiday destinations in the region. The TIME Awards not only acknowledge the excellence in service provided throughout the year, but are also testament of savvy brand management.” 

Mrs. Juthamas commented, “Both the Conde Nast Traveller and TIME Awards show that international travellers rate Thailand highly as a holiday destination.

“These awards will help draw more visitors to Thailand. We thank the readers of these magazines for their confidence in us and appreciate the continued support of the international media in promoting Thailand.”