After already winning an unprecedented amount of tourism awards this year, readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Magazine honored Thailand with yet another tourism award: The 31st annual Readers’ Choice awards places the city of Chiang Mai among the Top 20 Small Cities in the World in 2018.
This new Condé Nast accolade succeeds the recent UK 2018 Readers’ Travel Awards voting Thailand into the third spot in the Best Country category.
The international travel industry regularly refers to the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards as ‘the best of the best of travel’ because they are the veteran accolades in the travel industry and therefore perhaps the most prestigious recognition of tourism excellence.
Almost half a million of Condé Nast Traveller’s readers contributed to a recording-breaking amount of responses evaluating their travel experiences to allow for a representative picture of where and how people travel the world today.
In its appraisal for Chiang Mai, Condé Nast Traveller states that “There’s a reason so many travelers beeline for Chiang Mai when they visit Thailand—the city is undoubtedly the cultural capital of the country. (It also doesn’t hurt that the super-luxe Four Seasons Resort and intimate Rachamankha are fantastic home bases.) Then there are the markets (we’re big fans of Warorot), rich aesthetics of both temples and nature, and the ever-present smells of espresso and curry. As for the street food, let’s say you haven’t really lived until you order a bowl of Khao soy.”
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said: “Chiang Mai, with its charming culture of the ancient Lanna capital plus the lovely weather and the beautiful hills, has always been popular with local and international tourists. I want to thank the readers of Condé Nast Traveller for naming Chiang Mai one of the World’s Top 20 Small Cities 2018.”
The 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards are exclusively published on the Condé Nast Traveller’s website and featured in the November issue of the magazine.
