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According to the results of a poll conducted by the popular travel website Travel & Leisure, Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, has become the top destination among the top 10 cities in Southeast Asia chosen by tourists.
According to travelandleisure.com, there are numerous reasons why Bangkok maintains its position as the most visited city in the world, and the city is gradually returning to its pre-Covid-19 pandemic status.
In this year's Travel & Leisure poll, the Thai islands of Phuket and Samui were also included in the list of "Best Islands in Southeast Asia".
Bangkok has been chosen as the top tourist city in Southeast Asia.
Thai government spokesperson Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on July 4 that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was delighted to hear that several Thai tourist destinations had taken top positions in Travel & Leisure's rankings.
Following Bangkok on the list of the Best Tourist Cities in Southeast Asia 2022 are Singapore, Da Nang (Vietnam), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hanoi (Vietnam), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and Jakarta (Indonesia).
In the category of Best Tourist Islands in Southeast Asia 2022, Phuket and Samui occupied the top two positions.
Following that are the islands of Bali (Indonesia), Phu Quoc (Vietnam), Langkawi (Malaysia), Lombok (Indonesia), Palawan (Philippines), Penang (Malaysia), Phiphi (Thailand), and Con Dao (Vietnam).
According to Mr. Thanakorn, Phuket Island has beautiful beaches and attractive tourist facilities, making it ideal for families and groups of tourists. The old town on the island is also a major attraction for visitors.
In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Thailand welcomed nearly 40 million international tourists.
The tourism industry contributed 3 trillion baht (approximately US$84.11 billion) to the Thai economy in 2019, accounting for 18% of the country's GDP. Of this, 2 trillion baht came from foreign tourists (12% of GDP) and 1 trillion baht from domestic tourism (6% of GDP).
Thailand hopes to attract more than 9 million international tourists and generate 1.27 trillion baht (approximately US$35.7 billion) in revenue in 2022.
