Thailand has won the TTG Travel Awards for the “Outstanding Achievement Awards: Destination of the Year 2013” for the second consecutive year, making it the fifth time the country has won this accolade, having received it previously in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2012.

Along with the “Destination of the Year 2013” award, Thai organisations, hotels, tour operators and individuals won a total of 12 honours at the 24th Annual TTG Travel Awards 2013 Ceremony and Gala Dinner on 3 October 2013 at Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre, CentralWorld.

Organised by TTG Asia Media’s Travel Trade Publishing group, the TTG Travel Awards has been recognising the best of Asia-Pacific’s travel industry since 1989. The annual event honours stellar organisations and individuals in 4 categories: Travel Supplier, Travel Agency, Outstanding Achievement and Travel Hall of Fame.

The “Outstanding Achievement Awards” is a non-voting category. The four winners in this category, including “Destination of the Year”, are hand-picked and honoured by TTG’s editors, who once in a while discover outstanding individuals and organisations that deserve special commendation for their contribution to the trade.

Two other winners from Thailand honoured by TTG’s editors in this “Outstanding Achievement Awards” category are:

– Best Travel Entrepreneur: Mr. Chanin Donavanik, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dusit International.

– Best Marketing & Relationship Effort: Best Western International’s regional HQ in Thailand.

In other categories, the awards were conferred on the basis of 120,000 valid votes cast between end-May to early-August 2013 by TTG’s print and online media subscribers.

Winners from Thailand in 2013 are:

Best Convention & Exhibition Bureau: Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau

Best South-East Asian Airline: Thai Airways International

Best Airline – Business Class: Thai Airways International

Best City Hotel – Bangkok: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Best Meetings & Conventions Hotel: Centara Grand at CentralWorld

Best Business Hotel: Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok

Best Beach Resort: Amari Palm Reef Koh Samui

Best Travel Agency – Thailand: Diethelm Travel Group

Travel Hall of Fame: The Royal Cliff Hotels Group

Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand said, “All these awards are testimony to the fact that the continuous efforts being made by the Thai tourism industry to strive for higher standards are delivering results. In this age of high competitiveness, the only way we can continue to stand out from the crowd is by seeking to ensure value for money, memorable experiences and product differentiation.”

He added, “I would like to extend my gratitude to the editors and readers of TTG Asia for their confidence in Thailand and our entire travel and tourism industry. They certainly go a long way towards encouraging us to reach for the sky.”

From January to August 2013, Thailand’s visitor arrivals surged to a record total of a little over 17.43 million, up by 21% over the same period of 2012. Visitors from East Asia totalled 10.5 million (+31.70%), Europe 4 million (+13.06%), the Americas 758,482 (+7.37%), South Asia 901,964 (+5.23%), and Africa 104,266 (+4.93%).