BANGKOK, Dec 28 – Thailan’s capital Bangkok was ranked at the top of this year’s top ten popular cities among Thai and foreign tourists in a survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
Ministry Permanent Secretary Suwat Sidthilaw and Spokesman Watchara Kannikar on Wednesday told a news briefing that the ministry had carried out the survey of the most popular Thai cities among domestic and foreign tourists for the first time by compiling statistics from the Department of Tourism, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the association of tourism business operators and guides
Mr Watchara said the ministry hoped that the survey would drive relevant agencies and tourism operators to compete and improve their performance next year.
Following the first tourist survey ever by the ministry, the capital won first place as most popular city among Thai and foreign visitors with the total number of tourists visiting the metropolitan at 20.7 million this year.
The main popular tourist attractions in Bangkok were the historic Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn Temple (Wat Pho), and Old Bangkok’s Rattanakosin Island, Mr Suwat explained.
Meanwhile, the eastern seaboard province of Chon Buri, particularly Bang Saen, Pattaya, Ko Lan and Nong Nooch Garden, was ranked second, attracting about six million tourists, followed by the southern Andaman resort of Phuket and the historic city of Ayutthaya respectively.
Kanchanaburi of River Kwai fame ranked fifth while the northern province of Chiang Mai was sixth, followed by Rayong, Songkhla, Nakhon Ratchasima and Krabi respectively.
