Thailand leads BBC travel destination poll
Survey marks interest in SE Asia
Thailand is viewed as the most popular destination to visit in Southeast Asia for visitors planning a trip from North America and Europe, according to a survey by BBC News.
All told, 57.4% of global respondents who are intending to travel to Southeast Asia said they would be likely to visit Thailand, more than any other country in the region, according to the survey of BBC Global Minds members.
Visitors to Southeast Asia are often experienced world travellers, looking for new and different experiences, the survey results found.
They tend to plan to stay for at least one or two weeks, preferring selfplanned trips to package deals.
“Travel has been in a state of flux since the pandemic and we are seeing a wonderful comeback throughout Southeast Asia currently for travellers and the travel industry as a whole,” said John Williams, vice-president for advertising sales at BBC News.
“It is fantastic to see that travellers from across the world are planning on coming to Southeast Asia and it is really important to understand why their travel decisions are being made.”
The survey also found nearly 4 in 5 Europeans who plan to visit Southeast Asia said they plan to embark on the trip within the next six months.
Statistics show travellers’ priorities lie in cultural and sustainable travel, with 91% of respondents looking for unique culture and heritage in their chosen destination, and 72% of travellers conscious of minimising their impact on the local environment.
BBC Global Minds is an online community, a proprietary panel of international news consumers from around the world, with roughly 19,000 profiled members.
The survey was sent out to members in July 2022. The total sample size for the survey was 1,414.