ANN/THE STAR – Thailand, Indonesia (specifically, Bali) and Singapore were picked as the favourite destinations in Asia, according to a poll released by Smart Travel Asia.
The “Best In Travel” poll was conducted throughout last month. The annual reader polls have run since 2005 covering tourism industry such as airlines, airports, destinations and hotels.
Smart Travel Asia celebrated their 20th anniversary this year.
The magazine’s frequent traveller readers are based worldwide with many in the United States, Singapore, India, China, Hong Kong, Dubai, Japan, Australia, Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands. These affluent travellers are said to take 10 air trips annually within or to Asia, with an average annual household income of USD145,000 this year.
The poll also showed that this year key travel interests include (based on rank, from most to least) adventure/nature, culture/history, dining/nightlife, wellness (spas), shopping, family travel, and weddings.
Younger travellers were also adventurous in their hotel choices, while older and higher income readers preferred classic luxury brands.
As for the “Top 10 Destinations” in Asia, Bangkok (Thailand) sits at the top, followed by Bali, with the Maldives and Hokkaido (Japan) tied at number three. The magazine concludes that travel recovery followed destination re-openings as well as airline routes and frequencies.
Malaysia’s Langkawi island tied at number eight with Vietnam’s Danang and Hoi An, as well as Seoul, South Korea.
In the “Top 10 Airports” worldwide category, Singapore’s Changi Airport ranked number one; neither of the two Kuala Lumpur (KL) International Airports are on the list. KL did, however, make it to the “Top 10 Cities For Meetings” in Asia list, sitting at number eight.
Langkawi fared better at number five, tied with Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). Singapore clinched the top spot for this category.
AirAsia is many travellers’ preferred low-cost airline as it is ranked number one in the “Top 10 Budget Airlines” in Asia category. This is followed by IndiGo, Jetstar Asia, Scoot, Spice Jet, Cebu Pacific, Peach, Air Arabia, HK Express and Vietjet.
Many properties and brands had similar rankings in the “Top 10 Luxury Hotels” in Asia category, with Kudadoo Maldives Private Island as the top choice. Others on the list include Buahan, A Banyan Tree Escape (number two, Bali); COMO Uma Punakha (Bhutan) and Amankila (Bali) at number three; Mandapa, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve (number four, Bali); Aman Tokyo and Taj Lake Palace (Udaipur, India) at number five.
Two hotels in KL are on the list of “Top 10 Value Hotels” in Asia: The Chow Kit – An Ormond Hotel is ranked 3rd, while Aloft Kuala Lumpur is ranked 5th.
