Bangkok and Chiang Mai have been voted among the 15 World's Best Cities in 2016 by readers of Travel+Leisure Magazine.
The World's Best Awards survey developed by the magazine editors, in association with digital marketing firm Wylei, was conducted from Nov 2 to Feb 29 this year. Respondents were asked to rate many topics including city sites, airlines, airports and hotels. The results are published in the magazine's August issue and on its website.
Chiang Mai was ranked second after Charleston, South Carolina, in the US. Third-best city was San Miguel de Allende, a colonial-era city in Mexico, followed by Florence, Luang Phrabang, Kyoto, New Orleans, Barcelona, Savannah and Cape Town.
Rome rated 11th, followed by Beirut, Siem Reap, Bangkok and Cuzco in Peru.
"Perhaps the best part of the 2016 World's Best Cities list is its diversity: from the American South to the Middle East, the heart of Mexico to the capitals of ancient European and Asian empires, the most beloved cities on Earth show how dynamic our world really is," according to the magazine's assistant digital editor Melanie Lieberman.
Visit www.travelandleisure.com/worlds-best/cities.
Miss Universe set for Kingdom
The 16 finalists of Miss Universe China 2016, a national beauty pageant, will shoot their video presentations in Thailand in October.
Miss Universe China Organisation, the event organiser, signed a contract with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in Shanghai a couple of weeks ago.
The agreement is in line with TAT's campaign to promote travel to Thailand by women, which will be officially launched next month, said TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn.
"We also see this partnership as a great opportunity to enhance the positive image of Thailand as a quality leisure destination among the people of China, which is currently Thailand's largest tourist market," he said.
About 40 people in the contest will spend seven days in Thailand, and have a chance to explore Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.
Apart from joining activities with locals, the finalists will take part in fashion shows and post for a photo-shoot in Thai traditional dress. Their activities in Thailand will be shared live through the Miss Universe China Organisation's website, Weibo and Wechat accounts. The video presentation of each finalist will be broadcast during the final round in China in November.
From January to May this year, about 4.2 million Chinese tourists visited the Kingdom. This is up 24% from the same period last year. TAT expects that Chinese tourists will generate up to 509 billion baht for the Thai economy this year.
Airlines update
Emirates has been voted the World's Best Airline by the Skytrax's World Airline Awards 2016.
London-based Skytrax is an international air transport rating organisation. It launched its first global, airline passenger satisfaction survey in 1999. The awards were widely known as the Passengers Choice awards and regarded as a global benchmark of airline excellence. This year, the survey had 19.2 million completed entries.
Second in the top 10 list was Qatar Airways, followed by Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, All Nippon Airways, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines, Eva Air, Qantas Airways and Lufthansa.
Thai Airways was ranked in 13th position, up from 19th the previous year. The airline also won the World's Most Improved Airline and Best Airline Lounge Spa Facility awards.
AirAsia won World's Best Low-Cost Airline and Best Low-Cost Airline in Asia while Bangkok Airways won the World's Best Regional Airline and Best Regional Airline in Asia.
For the World's Best Cabin Staff, Garuda Indonesia secured top position while Thai Airways ranked fourth behind All Nippon Airways and Singapore Airlines. For the World's Best Inflight Entertainment, Emirates led the list while Thai Airways ranked sixth. Lastly for the World's Cleanest Aircraft Cabins, Cathay Pacific was top of the chart. Unfortunately, Thai Airways was not in the top 10.
Visit www.worldairlineawards.com.
Hotels update
The three-star Ibis will open a new property in Impact Muang Thong Thani on Chaeng Watthana Road.
According to Impact Exhibition Management managing director Paul Kanjanapas, the company set aside a 1 billion baht budget for the hotel project to respond to higher demand for accommodation near the exhibition centre.
The hotel will be called Ibis Bangkok IMPACT Hotel and be managed by AccorHotels Group. The 18-storey building will offer 587 rooms including 13 rooms for people with disabilities, a lobby bar, restaurant and parking spaces for 113 cars.
The hotel is scheduled to be open in March next year.
The new property will be an alternative to the existing four-star Novotel Bangkok IMPACT Hotel which offers 380 rooms.
Visit www.impact.co.th.
Best Western plans to open second Vib Hotel in Bangkok.
The hotel is owned by Bangkok-based Thai Bedding which also owns the Picasso brand of bed and bath products.
The project will feature 180 rooms with 17.7m² space usage. To make use of the limited space, it will use platform beds with storage below and a desk connected. Scheduled to open in the first quarter 2019, the hotel will be located not far from Saphan Taksin BTS station and Robinson Bangrak shopping mall.
Email karnjanak@bangkokpost.co.th if you have any comments to share.
