AirAsia has been named the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline for the ninth time in a row at the 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards.

The awards, known as the “Oscars of the aviation industry”, was presented to Asia’s largest low-cost carrier at a ceremony held at Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, Le Bourget Airport in Paris on Tuesday.

AirAsia Group cabin crew head Suhaila Hassan, who has been with the company for 20 years, accepted the award, flanked by AirAsia ambassador David Foster and Brazilian football player Roberto Carlos at the ceremony that saw 71 awards being given away.

The airline was also named Asia’s Best Low-Cost Airline in Asia.

“We are now nine times world champion. To put it into perspective, Brazil won the FIFA World Cup five times, Michael Jordan was NBA champion six times and Michael Phelps holds the record for most first place finishes at a single Olympics with eight gold medals,” said AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

“We take the world champion title seriously and we will strive to continue to improve for both our guests and shareholders,” he added.

He said over the last 15 years, the group has created a great brand and wants to move towards One AirAsia, a truly Asean community airline.

“We also want to recreate ourselves as a digital airline and use technology to drive more value,” said Fernandes.

Meanwhile, AirAsia X, AirAsia’s long-haul sister airline, bagged the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline Premium Cabin and World’s Best Low-Cost Airline Premium Seat awards for the fifth straight year.

The Skytrax Awards are the global benchmark of airline excellence with over 19.9 million customer surveys completed worldwide by more than 105 nationalities, measuring standards across 49 key performance indicators of an airline’s frontline products and services.

AirAsia and AirAsia X have won a combined 25 Skytrax World Airline Awards since the awards were introduced in 2001.

AirAsia is Asia’s largest low-cost carrier by the number of passengers carried, with an extensive network covering more than 120 destinations in 26 countries across Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and the United States.

Phuket remains one of the most desirable destinations for high-income Chinese tourists according to figures published in the latest Hurun Report, which was released at the International Luxury Travel Mart (ILTM) 2017, held in Shanghai from 5 to 8 June.

Mr. Chuwit Sirivajjakul, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Shanghai Office said, “This survey shows that our policy of targeting luxury tourists to Thailand is working. Phuket has long been a draw for well-heeled travellers, for not only does the island offer a wealth of stunning natural wonders including the world’s best beaches and stunning sunsets, it also boasts luxury experiences including sumptuous five-star hotels and luxury pool villas, spas with every kind of bodily pampering, designer malls, and tailored-made activities aimed at people seeking unique luxury holidays.”

Phuket and Thailand score highly in all three categories of the Hurun Report 2017. These are:  Most Memorable Travel Destinations; Most Popular Summer-Autumn International Travel Destinations and Most Popular Winter-Spring International Travel Destinations.

In the Most Memorable Travel Destinations, Thailand took sixth place among all respondents, but in among the Post 80s Generation (those born in mainland China between 1980 and 1989), Phuket took the first place, showing the huge enthusiasm for beach and island holidays among the younger generation of Chinese travellers.

Phuket was ranked as the top travel destination in the Most Popular Summer-Autumn International Travel Destinations by 27 per cent of respondents. Among the Post 80s Generation, Phuket ranked second on the Most Popular Summer-Autumn International Travel Destinations with 29 per cent of the vote.

In the Most Popular Winter-Spring International Travel Destinations, Phuket was voted second favourite holiday destination overall (18 per cent) and for Post 80s travellers (15 per cent). Phuket is the only destination to be on both the Summer-Autumn and Spring-Winter lists.

The Hurun Survey reflects the popularity among wealthy Chinese tourists for beach and island holidays, which ranked first choice with the Post 80s generation getting 46.4 per cent of the vote in the Travel Theme in the Past Year section of the survey. Beach and island holidays took third place generally with 23.4 per cent of respondents expressing a preference for this type of holiday after Leisure (41 per cent) and Polar Exploration (30.5 per cent).

Thailand is well-known among Chinese tourists for its beach and island holidays with destinations, especially Phuket, with Krabi, Ko Samui and Ko Chang becoming increasingly popular. Chinese tourists who enjoy luxury also seek out big hotel brands, many of which are well represented in Thailand.

The kingdom is also well known for resorts, which are the most popular style of luxury hotel in the Hurun Report with 81 per cent of the vote. Good personalised service, for which Thailand is renowned, also plays a part and was the most important factor with 49 per cent of respondents saying service played the main role when it came to choosing a hotel.

The Hurun Research Institute carried out its latest survey between March and May 2017 in association with three of China’s leading luxury travel agencies. The respondents in the annual survey were all high-end Chinese travellers from 12 mainland cities with per capita wealth of nearly RMB 22 million (US$3.2 million / 110.2 million Baht), and who spent on average per trip RMB 380,000 (US$55.8 / 1.9 million Baht), a figure that has risen 57 per cent year on per year.

Established as a research unit in 1999, the Hurun Report Inc. has grown into a leading research house, media and lifestyle investment business based in Shanghai, China. The organisation is best known for its rankings of the richest people in China, India and the rest of the world.

Racha Noi Island is located some 20 kilometers off the southern tip of Phuket.
Unlike its big brother Racha Yai, Racha Noi is much smaller, more secluded and less frequented than Racha Yai.

Construction is forbidden so it leaves Racha Noi with no hotels or accommodation. The island is covered in dense tropical jungle and is uninhabited by people.

Most visitors from Phuket are more likely to visit Racha Yai, just 12 kilometers south of Phuket, being the more popular choice for tourists to Thailand.

The island is bigger and better catered to, with shops, luxury resorts and plenty of mooring space for boats inside the sheltered Bungalow Bay.

This bay is also an ideal dive spot for beginner divers who are getting into open water for the first time.

Many dive tour operators organize trips to Racha Yai on a daily basis for students and inexperienced divers. Speedboats often take less than 20 minutes to reach Racha Yai from Phuket. Larger boats take about 45 minutes.

The downside is that the island is often packed because it is so convenient to reach from Phuket.

For visitors who do not mind journeying on, Racha Noi is around ten kilometers further south.

This small island will appeal to visitors who are looking for a raw tropical island experience.
On approaching Racha Noi, the natural beauty of the island starts to capture ones imagination. Nearly the entire surface of the land is covered with lush green forests.

Another worthwhile attraction at Racha Noi is that the closer you get to it, the clear water starts revealing a thriving coral reef below the surface.

Racha Noi is renowned for its breathtaking reefs. It is home to several popular dive sites that surround the island, including some shipwrecks that have turned into thriving artificial reefs.

Unlike Racha Yai however, Racha Noi’s dive sites are much deeper and not suitable for beginners.

Additionally, because the island is situated in the open sea with no shelter from monsoon winds, the current can be quite strong and unpredictable.

On the other hand, experienced divers who come to Racha Noi have a good chance to spot large open water species such as whale sharks, manta rays and sea turtles, which are frequent visitors to the island.

Non-divers can marvel at the beauty of the coral reefs by snorkeling close to the island’s shores. If you are not a big fan of snorkeling, you may choose to relax on the white sand bank, or go for a swim in the crystal clear sea.

If you are looking for a secluded paradise to get away from the hustle and bustle of Phuket just for a day, Racha Noi might be the perfect place. The best time to visit would be from November until April or mid May.

The boat trip can get very choppy if the weather turns bad so best to avoid visiting during the monsoon months. Since there is no accommodation on Racha Noi, it is best to organize a day trip from either Racha Yai or Phuket. Pick a sunny day and you will not be disappointed.

This article first appeared in the June 10-16 issue of the hard-copy Phuket Gazette newspaper.

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The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on 2 June launched this year’s Thailand Shopping & Dining Paradise 2017 campaign with the theme “Dining, Shopping and Travelling” on the “world’s longest shopping route” in Bangkok. The two-month campaign, formerly known as the Amazing Thailand Grande Sale, is being held from 1 June to 31 July, 2017.

H.E. Mrs. Kobkarn Wattanvrangkul, Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports said, “The Thailand Shopping & Dining Paradise 2017 will be introduced to shopping aficionados, both local and foreign visitors, through a series of special events in Bangkok and four other cities in Thailand’s Special Economic Zone. Now in its 19th year, the re-named Thailand Shopping & Dining Paradise is bigger than ever, reflecting the huge popularity of Thailand as a destination for people who love great shopping, delicious food and unbeatable bargains.”

The opening event in Bangkok, which took place on 2 June, celebrated the fact that Bangkok is home to the world’s longest shopping route, starting at the Siam Paragon shopping mall, and taking in the CentralWorld and EmQuartier shopping complexes.

Mr. Noppadon Pakprot, Deputy Governor for Tourism Products and Business said, “The Thailand Shopping & Dining Paradise 2017 highlights seven types of products and services from 2,000 participating partners, including hotels and accommodation; transportation (airlines/yachts); dining; entertainment and theme parks; department stores and malls; health and wellness and beauty centres; jewellery and accessories shops, etc. They are offering promotions to encourage local and international visitors to shop, dine and travel domestically with discounts of up to 80 per cent on some products and services. ”

Special promotional events in four other Thai cities are expected to help boost the numbers of intra-ASEAN tourists and revenue as well as strengthen Thailand’s position as an ASEAN retail hub. The opening ceremony and event in Tak’s Mae Sot district (near Myanmar) will take place at the Robinson’s Department Store from 30 June to 2 July. Over in Sa Kaeo’s Aranyaprathet district (bordering Cambodia), there will be activities on 16-17 June at Syamindra Plaza. In Songkhla’s Hat Yai district, special events will take place on 10 June at the Hat Yai walking street. Finally, in Khon Kaen’s Mueang district, shopping fun and activities will take place from 1-2 July at Central Plaza Khon Kaen.

There are more special promotions and discounts on offer from credit card providers; such as, VISA, Mastercard and UnionPay. Thailand-based airlines like Thai Airways, Thai Smile, Nok Air, Thai Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, and Thai Lion Air are also offering special privileges during the two-month shopping and dining season. In addition, passengers travelling to Thailand with these airlines will get a BTS One-day pass and on-top discounts on food and souvenirs at participating shops and restaurants when showing their boarding passes. Hotel reservation site, Booking.com is also taking part in the campaign by offering 15 per cent discounts for bookings in any 3-5 star accommodation in Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Samui, Phuket or Hua Hin.

According to the latest figures from the influential Mastercard Asia-Pacific Destinations Index 2017, Bangkok has retained its place as the Top Destination in terms of Visitor Numbers out of 171 destinations in the Asia-Pacific region. For more details, read: Bangkok remains most visited Asia-Pacific destination in Mastercard Index 2017.