For the fifth time, Mastercard has named Thailand the most popular international destination in the world (Photo: thainews.prd.go.th)
For the fifth time, Mastercard has named Thailand the most popular international destination in the world.
Government Spokesperson Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on the weekend that Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha was pleased to hear that Thailand had been voted the world’s best destination for the third consecutive time this year and five times in the past six years.
According to Mastercard’s report known as Global Destinations Cities Index, Thailand in 2017 was visited by 20 million overnight visitors. The average length of stay was 4.7 nights. Each foreign visitor spent 5,500 THB per day.
The cities of Phuket and Pattaya were voted 12th and 18th best respectively.
Thailand was the only country to have three cities in the top 20, which reflected the country’s well developed infrastructure, the quality of hospitality services, and affordability.
Mastercard examined 162 cities worldwide to come up with its Global Destinations Cities Index. The ranking is based on the number of visitors, the amount of money they spent, and the average length of stay in 2017.
By Mastercard’s assessment, Bangkok is more affordable than Paris, Singapore or Seoul.
NNT/VNA
