Published on : Tuesday, August 19, 2014
According to a survey by the Beachfront Club out of more than 11,000 hotels in 109 countries released on Friday, Thailand which is experiencing an impressive rush in tourism has thrashed the United States in the number of hotels truly set on its beaches.
The survey by the Beachfront Club, a website that maps and details seaside hotels around the world said the Southeast Asian country ranked first with more than 1,250 beachfront properties, followed by the United States with 1,016 and Mexico with 943. Spain, with 736, was fourth, trailed by the Philippines, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Egypt and Sri Lanka.
The awards are a measure of the number of true beachfront accommodation establishments a country offers, and include all levels from beach bungalows to luxury, 5-star resorts.
‘True beachfront’, by the criteria of this Club, includes only those hotels directly on a beach or oceanfront with no road or traffic between the rooms and the water.
Thailand also ranked first for total beachfront accommodations within a single beach destination.
Its Samui Island has 270, ahead of Riviera Maya in Mexico with 250, Crete with 194 and Mallorca with 187.
Despite recent political violence, tourist arrivals in Thailand have raised by 88% over the past five years to nearly 27 million in 2013, ranking it among the top 10 most visited countries in the world. Its shores face both the Pacific and Indian oceans with hundreds of
islands in each.
However Speedy growth in beach tourism has not been limited to Thailand.
Its neighbors also showed solid upswings in 2013, with Southeast Asia enjoying the biggest annual increase of any region in the world.
In spite of the deep crisis in Western economies, the
traditional beach destinations also enjoyed some growth over the five years from 2009 to 2013 – though it was comparatively slow.
While Thailand enjoyed the huge 88%, Spain had a modest 16% increase, with Turkey and Greece trailing behind that.
The Caribbean saw less than 10% growth over the same period, WTO figures show.
Drive in global beach tourism shows a clear movement from the old destinations to the new, tropical islands and beaches of Asia.
With long-distant air transport times and costs at all-time lows, beach-lovers are willing to spend 10 or more hours on a plane in the
search for newer beaches and more natural environments.
Tags: Thailand
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