Special Report: Bangkok receives World's Best City Award 2012

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok has for the third time in as many years been named the World’s Best City 2012 by the globally renowned travel magazine Travel & Leisure.

Based on the Travel & Leisure’s annual survey conducted on its readers’ opinions regarding the best travel destinations in the world, Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra announced that the the Thai capital of Bangkok was ranked first on the list and was granted the World’s Best Award 2012. This is the third year in a row that Bangkok has received the prestigious award.

Travel & Leisure is one of the most famous travel magazines in the US, boasting at least 30,000 readerships from around the world. Factors taken into account by respondents in the survey included location, scenery, art and culture, food, shopping, hospitality and cost-worthiness.

The Governor traveled to New York to receive the award on behalf of Bangkok on July 19th. According to him, the award is the pride of Bangkokians. He added that, besides beautiful scenery, the capital has its unique features such as lifestyle, culture, tradition and various choices of food.

MR Sukhumbhand further elaborated that the award shows that Thais have been good hosts for foreigners, adding that Thai hospitality, honesty, and friendly gestures with the tourists also help claim the award for the third consecutive year.

He asked all Thais to help preserve the city as a lively place and extend a warm welcome to tourists so that Bangkok will continue to receive the World’s Best City award for years to come.

For other awards, New York City holds on to its title for the 12th year in a row as the Best City in the U.S. and Canada, and ranks No. 7 among top cities overall. Boracay in the Philippines is voted World’s Best Island. Singapore Airlines is the World’s best international airlines.

-- NNT 2012-07-25

Beautiful scenery and honesty with tourists...

hard to believe ..... lousy pavements to walk , very poor lighting in streets on main road such as sukhumvit or silom you need to slalom between pedestrians and street food seller or souvenir stall etc .... Not to mention the heavy traffic , the over crowed BTS ..... Could be interesting to know how they judge a city , under which criteria.

If they had been here during the floods last year, or the burning down malls. I wonder if they would be giving this false accolade!

HUH!!!!!

Comedy gold. I'm sure the exact same award was issued roughly the same time last year. It even looks like they've just copied and pasted some of the original text from last years article. I could get an Oscar award made for me if I thought people would believe it. Hell, I might even go and buy a Grammy.

Well done Bangkok. You've somehow managed to do it again. I love this city.

Edited July 25, 201213 yr by CalzoHoudini

If they had been here during the floods last year, or the burning down malls. I wonder if they would be giving this false accolade!

Remember that BKK has been given this award for the pat three years running.

hard to believe ..... lousy pavements to walk , very poor lighting in streets on main road such as sukhumvit or silom you need to slalom between pedestrians and street food seller or souvenir stall etc .... Not to mention the heavy traffic , the over crowed BTS ..... Could be interesting to know how they judge a city , under which criteria.

BKK is a very large city and Sukhumvit tourist area is a very small part.

I can dig it. Bangkok's a sh*t-hole, but I love it.

mai-khee??? ... I wonder who comes up with this stuff... I'd choose CNX over BKK anyday of the week, and twice on Sunday's...

I will not believe anything I read from Travel and Leisures magazine again.

And Invercargill came 2nd

30,000 readership around the world! That is not even a drop in the ocean!

What a load of rubbish!!!

Is it really prestigious? From a magazine boasting...30.000 readers in the world (it seems preposterous but I am not an English speaker so don't know this magazine no irony) or is the figure wrong? 300.000/3.000.000 readers?

I can see why it'd get the world- it's an amazingly diverse city. Beautiful parks. Great transport system. For what it's worth, Bangkok only just shaded the victory... the top 10 was

1. Bangkok

2. Florence

3. Istanbul

4. Cape Town

5. Sydney

6. Rome

7. New York

8. Hong Kong

9. Kyoto

10. Paris

Edited July 25, 201213 yr by Rumblecat

Unbelieveable....this game with all these fake awards...

Living now for some years in ASIA it is amazing to see for what people get awards.

And behind all these awards is a world of crap, corruption and more bullshit....

Love when this survey comes out every year. Always seems to absolutely infuriate some that so many people actually enjoy this city. It is easily one of my favorite city in the world so I don't disagree although plenty of others I love as well. Most people from home who've come love it too.

And the article got it wrong, Travel + Leisure doesn't have just 30,000 readers, according to their website they have 1.5 million readers

http://www.tlmediakit.com/tlfamily_readerprofile.html

Edited July 25, 201213 yr by DP25

TAT must advertize heavily in Travel and Leisure magazine.

Just checked my calendar and it certainly isn't April Fools Day is it?

one can wonder how much TAT had to invest to buy this first place again, 30 million dollars perhaps ?

Well with this being the Miracle Year of Amazing Thailand with great shopping malls (only selling great local designs not knock offs), lets chock this one up to a divine miracle, who can we canonise for such a feat?

Well done BKK, love the place

to all the whingers try outside nana and cowboy. or f*** off home and whinge in your own country, maybe you can moan about immigrants trying to change your counyry.

wrt to corruption - the west is no benchmark

hard to believe ..... lousy pavements to walk , very poor lighting in streets on main road such as sukhumvit or silom you need to slalom between pedestrians and street food seller or souvenir stall etc .... Not to mention the heavy traffic , the over crowed BTS ..... Could be interesting to know how they judge a city , under which criteria.

Well, if you've never been somewhere else even Quetta seems a nice place to be...

Could be interesting to know how they judge a city , under which criteria.

Factors taken into account by respondents in the survey included location, scenery, art and culture, food, shopping, hospitality and cost-worthiness.

Love when this survey comes out every year. Always seems to absolutely infuriate some that so many people actually enjoy this city. It is easily one of my favorite city in the world so I don't disagree although plenty of others I love as well. Most people from home who've come love it too.

And the article got it wrong, Travel + Leisure doesn't have just 30,000 readers, according to their website they have 1.5 million readers

http://www.tlmediaki...derprofile.html

What people here have missed is that the readers of this magazine voted for Bangkok. It wasn't a poll of jaded expats. That would give an entirely different result.

But why are people so upset because others hold a different point of view. Different people like different things. Whenever my friends come to Bangkok they absolutely love it. Remember that they are visiting as tourists and this isn't an expat survey of the best place to retire.

But the problem with many on here is that they hate Thailand but still stay. I can't fathom why so many stay when they don't like it here.

Edited July 25, 201213 yr by w11guy

I can see why it'd get the world- it's an amazingly diverse city. Beautiful parks. Great transport system. For what it's worth, Bangkok only just shaded the victory... the top 10 was

1. Bangkok

2. Florence

3. Istanbul

4. Cape Town

5. Sydney

6. Rome

7. New York

8. Hong Kong

9. Kyoto

10. Paris

Hmm Bangkok first, Paris tenth....*Checks calender to see if it's April 1st*

There is definitely somebody at the wind up.

OMG, Detroit is a better city

Funny how many negative comments and still you all old farts are still living here. This is one of the best cities in the world and that's why I am here. I feel sorry for you all miserable old bags that are here because you cannot afford to be somewhere else.