Thailand has long been a popular spot for tourists from Russia who want to swap harsh, snowy conditions for year-round sun and beaches. It should come as no surprise then to learn that the Land of Smiles was named the Best Beach Destination by National Geographic Traveller Russia.
And that was just the start of the honors for the Kingdom. Thailand was also voted the Best Beach Resort via an online poll of the magazine’s readers. Representatives of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) were on hand at the awards presentation ceremony held on 18th November.
“This is such great news. Thailand is very honored to have received such prestigious awards from one of the top travel magazines in Russia as well as to have been voted online by its readers. Both honors are testaments of Thailand as a top beach getaway destination among travellers from Russia, one of the top 10 tourist markets to Thailand,” Eumporn Jiragalwisul, director of the TAT’s Moscow Office, said.
In order to win the award, Thailand had to beat out some prestigious competition long known for their great beaches. Other nominees in the category of Beach Leisure included Spain, Greece, Philippines and Azerbaijan. Thailand won the award by garnering 14 percent of the popular vote. There were 26 competitors in the category with Spain finishing in second place with 12 percent of the vote and the Philippines coming in third.
Thailand welcomed roughly 1.6 million visitors from Russia in 2014 and another 649,188 Russian tourists have visited Thailand so far this year. The country’s beach resorts in places like Phuket, Pattaya and Ko Samui remain the most popular destinations for these guests. At the moment there are direct flights from Moscow to key gateways in Thailand with several charter flights being offered during the winter season from various cities in across Russia.
