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Land of Smiles ranked among best destinations
Thailand has been voted the 4th top World Best Destination, up from 19th last year, according to the UK magazine Conde Nast Traveller's Travel Awards.

Phuket now ranks among the World’s Top Island Destinations.

Italy took 1st place followed by the United States and Turkey. Thailand was trailed by France, India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Greece.

According to Conde Nast Traveller, Italy was also ranked high for its culture and cuisine, while South Africa offers the best scenery and Turkey outdoes the competition for its value for money.
Among the ranks of the World's Top Island Destinations, Phuket was ranked 10th, but was given high scores for value for money and for hospitality; according to the magazine, the island resort was a place where one can find "luxury-on-a-budget and a friendly welcome".

Among the top nine in this category are the Greek Islands, the Maldives, Bali, Barbados in the Caribbean, Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, the Balearics in the Mediterranean, Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean, St Lucia in the eastern Caribbean and the Seychelles in Indian Ocean.

The survey also listed the best hotels in Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Four hotels here were listed among the top 20: Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai (3rd), which has the highest standard comfort of accommodation, the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai (12th), Anantara Phuket (14th) and Amanpuri in Phuket (17th).

For the top Overseas Business Hotels, the Upper House in Hong Kong lead with top marks for ambience/decor and standard/comfort of accommodation, while the Sukhothai Hotel in Bangkok ranked 20th among the worldwide best business hotels.

Among worldwide destination spas, Chiva-Som International Health Resort in Hua Hin was voted the 2nd best with high scores for accommodation and service/staff, while the leader in this category was the BodyHoliday of LeSport on St Lucia, which gained top marks for exercise programmes and facilities.

The Six Senses Spa at Six Senses Samui, on the other hand, was the winner of this year's overseas hotels top spa, gaining credit for offering an individual approach and body treatments.

In the airline category, Virgin Atlantic was the winner for long-haul holidays with top marks for luggage handling, convenience of scheduling and punctuality/efficiency, while Emirates provided the best in-flight entertainment. Singapore Airlines has the highest standards of service/staff, while Cathay Pacific has the best loyalty reward scheme.

Among low-cost airlines, the lead was taken by Bmibaby, a British outfit, while Air Asia (3rd) received high marks for being value for money, and the UK's Jet2 was noted for its child-friendliness.

Regarding the world's best airport, Hong Kong International Airport bagged 1st position with top marks for design/layout and shopping/duty-free facilities, followed by Singapore's Changi International Airport and London Heathrow's Terminal.

For more details, visit cntraveller.com/a...ards-2011/

Seoul mates

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has joined hands with Happy Korea by KTCC and GMM Grammy to introduce an online competition to take two lucky couples to Seoul.

The winners will have a chance to follow in the footsteps of two travel programmes _ Wake Club and Sisterday _ to explore the South Korean capital for three days.

The winning prize also includes accommodation, a guide and round-trip tickets. Other prizes for lucky winners include iPads, iPod Nanos and USB flash drives.

For more information, visit [url]visitseoul.net [/url]or call 02-539-7387 ext 43.

Airlines update

- Low-cost airline Nok Air will launch a direct flight from Bangkok to Phrae on October 1.

It will fly three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) using a 34-seat SAAB 340B charted from Siam General Aviation or Nok Mini.

The reservations can be made today at nokair.com

- The Air Transport Rating Agency has launched its first annual study on the world's top 10 safest airlines.

The Geneva-based agency used data from historic accident rates combined with 15 other criteria such as net financial results, average fleet age in service, in house maintenance capability and dedicated flight academy pilot-training facilities.

The top 10 safest carriers in alphabetical order are: Air France-KLM, AMR Corporation (American Airlines, American Eagle), British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.

- Emirates will launch daily non-stop flights from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro and extend to Buenos Aires on Jan 3 next year.

The expanding routes to the two South America cities also offer an alternative choice for travellers from Thailand to explore Brazil and Argentina, said Khalid Bardan, Emirates' area manager for Thailand and Indochina.

The airline plans to use Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offering eight First Class Private Suites, 42 lie-flat seats in Business and 304 seats in Economy for the new routes.

Hotels update

- Accor will open Mercure Krabi Deevana as its first hotel at Ao Nang, Krabi in October. The hotel will have a chic design with contemporary low-rise buildings. It will feature 213 rooms and suites, each with a private balcony, a restaurant and bars, three large outdoor swimming pools, a kid's pool and a spa as well as meeting and events facilities.

The hotel is about 30 minutes' drive from Krabi International Airport and 20 minutes to the city.

Visit mercurekrabideeva... for more details.

- Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn Bangkok will be open in December. Located near Surasak BTS station, the hotel will offer 390 rooms and suites with sizes ranging from 30sqm-78sqm. The hotel will also have a family floor with facilities for families with children, a play room, three restaurants, a swimming pool, a fitness centre, an internet corner, an executive lounge on the 32nd floor, grand ballrooms, three meeting rooms and two boardrooms.

- Hilton has opened the Conrad Koh Samui. Located on a 63-rai plot of land on Ao Thai Beach, the hotel features 80 villas with private plunge pools and sundecks. Each villa is built in contemporary Thai-style, with the options of one or two bedrooms. They come equipped with iPod docking station, a LCD flat-screen with a DVD player, an oversized bathtub and glass-walled rain shower.

Other facilities include restaurants, a lounge, a spa, a fitness centre, an outdoor yoga pavillion, an on-site diving and sailing centre and a pier.

Conrad Koh Samu is 28 kilometres from the airport to the west side of the island.



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