Thursday 9 August 2012

Sixty One Thai Tourism Products Score High Marks in Best in Travel 2012 Poll


Thai tourism destinations, airlines, airports, hotels and spa resorts scored high marks in the Best in Travel 2012 Poll announced by the popular website Smart Travel Asia 2012.

Altogether, a total of 61 Thai tourism industry products were listed in the poll rankings, some in the top ten and others in the top 25. The list was led by Phuket, which was ranked the second-best holiday destination in Asia. Bangkok ranked 4th best city for business and fifth in the top ten holiday destinations in Asia. Ko Samui ranked the 10th best holiday destination in Asia.

Thai Airways International, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and Samui Airport also fared well. An analysis of the poll results also indicated that the award-winning products were located nationwide, including Hua Hin and Chiang Rai.

Commented TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni, “We are proud to see so many of our destinations and products scoring highly in these rankings. It clearly shows that the determined effort made by our entire industry to upgrade quality is paying off and getting global recognition.”

Announcing the awards, Smart Travel Asia’s Editor-Publisher Vijay Verghese said, “This year (2012) marks the eighth year of our online poll to discern travel preferences among our affluent frequent traveller readers who take over 16 air trips a year.

“The focus of the Best in Travel Poll is to determine which travel brands are sought after and why. The three-month exercise from May to July each year offers insights for our own editorial direction and generates useful comparative research data for hotels and airlines.”

Mr. Verghese said that one interesting finding this year is that affluent travellers by and large first seek trusted brand evaluations online (rather than price), but often fail to find this due to the blizzard of booking engines and sales sites that tend to dominate search results. “Readers clearly state that they will first evaluate a brand before booking it,” he said.

“Another point to emerge is that while affluent travellers make travel decisions online, they do not commonly book online. They go offline to talk to a human being in order to ask questions and personalise the purchase. Business travellers in particular are averse to online bookings as travel circumstances change rapidly and unpredictably. They tend to use their own trusted travel agents or will talk to sales persons at a hotel of their choice. In other words, tracking ‘conversions’ often fails with this elite audience.”

Approximately 70 percent of the voters were based in Asia (largely Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and the Middle East), 15 percent in UK/Europe and 15 percent in USA and North America. They recorded an average of 16.22 air trips (up from 15.75) over the past 12 months and earned US$162,134 in household income (up modestly from US$156,716 in 2011).

There was no charge for nomination or any hidden fee. Readers were free to vote for any of thousands of travel products in Asia from Japan to the Middle East.

Here is a listing of all the Thai destinations and products that won awards: 

Top 10 Holiday Destinations (Asia)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
2
Phuket
2
3
Bangkok
10
10
Ko Samui
9

Top 10 Cities for Business (Asia)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
4
Bangkok
10

Top 10 Airlines (worldwide)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
4
Thai Airways International
4

Top 10 Airlines, Business Class (worldwide)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
6
Thai Airways International
6

Top 10 Airlines, Cabin Service (worldwide)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
3
Thai Airways International
2
6
BangkokAirways
7

Top 10 Budget Airlines (Asia)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
10
Nok Air
9

Top 10 Airports (worldwide)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
6
SuvarnabhumiAirport
5
10
SamuiAirport
9

Top 25 Business Hotels (Asia)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
8
Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok
9
14
SheratonGrande Sukhumvit, Bangkok
12
15
InterContinental Bangkok
19
16
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
17
19
ConradBangkok
14
23
Centara Grand at CentralWorld, Bangkok
19
25
DusitThaniBangkok
25
25
JWMarriottHotel Bangkok
23

Top 25 Conference Hotels (Asia)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
10
Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok
13
11
InterContinental Bangkok
15
14
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
16
16
SheratonGrande Sukhumvit, Bangkok
14
17
AngsanaLaguna Phuket
-
22
ConradBangkok
15
24
Centara Grand At CentralWorld, Bangkok
20
25
DusitThaniBangkok
22
25
JWMarriott PhuketResort & Spa

25
Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok
25

Top 25 Spa Hotels & Resorts (Asia)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
4
Banyan Tree Phuket
5
5
Amanpuri, Phuket
4
8
Six Senses Samui – A Sala Property
9
10
The Peninsula, Bangkok
11
11
JWMarriott PhuketResort & Spa
9
11
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
15
12
Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai
16
12
CentaraGrand BeachResort & Villas Hua Hin
13
13
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
23
18
CentaraGrand BeachResort Samui
16
18
Chiva-Som, Hua Hin
20
20
AntaraHuaHin Resort & Spa
22
21
AngsanaLaguna Phuket
-
22
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
25
24
CentaraGrand BeachResort & Villas Krabi
23
24
Plaza Athenee Bangkok
25
25
AleentaPhuket– Phang Nga Resort & Spa
25
25
ConradBangkok
19

Top 25 Leisure Hotels & Resorts (Asia)
2012 Rank

2011 Rank
4
AmanpuriPhuket
4
7
Twinpalms Phuket Resort
8
12
Banyan Tree Phuket
17
13
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
24
13
SalaPhuketResort & Spa
25
13
The Chedi Chiang Mai
16
14
Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai
18
15
CentaraGrand BeachResort Samui
16
17
CentaraGrand BeachResort & Villas Hua Hin
12
19
JWMarriott PhuketResort & Spa
18
24
Indigo Pearl, Phuket
-
25
Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa, Chiang Rai
23
25
CentaraGrand Mirage BeachResort Pattaya
21
25
The Library, Ko Samui
20


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