Thailand voted the best country in the world for holiday

A report from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said that more than a thousand respondents participated in the survey. The Ultimate Luxury Travel Related Awards recognize the best in luxury travel based on their readers’ votes on the places they go, the airlines and hotels they select, and the services they enjoy.

The award was received recently by Mr. Chalermsak Suranant, Director of the TAT Dubai and Middle East Office, at a gala dinner in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

Mr. Chalermsak said that visitors to Thailand feel it is truly an ultimate holiday getaway with a perfect mixture of the old and the new. The distinctive character of each city and province, from the North to the South, is the result of Thailand’s long-standing freedom, while opening itself to all positive things beyond its borders.

Thailand recently launched a strategy to position itself as a Muslim-friendly destination. The "Muslim-Friendly Destination” is a pilot project to welcome more Muslim visitors to Thailand. TAT realizes the potential and readiness of Thailand to promote this market. Thailand is already the top destination in Asia for Middle East travelers. Among destinations that are not Muslim countries, it is ranked second in the world by the Global Muslim Travel Index.

At present, the population of Muslims worldwide is estimated at 1.6 billion, or about one in four of the total world population. The Muslim population in the ASEAN region is about 240 million, a significantly large and growing market, especially from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam. The potential will rise further after the ASEAN Community is launched at the end of 2015.

For these reasons and more, Thailand has great potential to serve this market, in which there is a whole new generation of young Muslim Thais emerging nationwide. They will seek promising opportunities in the tourism sector in the future.

TAT also aims to attract Muslim families to spend the Holy Month of Ramadan in Thailand, especially in some southern provinces, such as Phuket, which is gearing up to be a halal food center, and Krabi, which is positioning itself as a "Dream Destination for Muslims.”

The tourism sector has continued to play an important role in supporting the Thai economy. The Government’s measures to stimulate tourism are a factor contributing to the tourism situation. These measures include the tourism promotion campaign "Discover Thainess,” which emphasizes the country’s unique cultural treasures and the Thai way of life.

Thailand’s tourism marketing plan for 2016 will focus on promoting the Kingdom as a "Quality Leisure Destination through Thainess.”