WASHINGTON, 20 June 2018: Phuket figured seventh on the US News & World Report’s World’s Best Places to Visit, the only Asian destination to appear in the top-10 ranking.
US News & World Report publishes various best-places-to-visit lists covering hotels, cruise lines and travel reward programmes.
However, its latest assessment based on reader responses, released Tuesday, focuses on best vacation destinations both globally and by region.
Paris led the top 30 world best destinations, but Thailand’s southern island of Phuket gained seventh place, the only Asian destination to appear in the top 10.
Second place went to the Yellowstone National Park in the US followed by Rome in third place, Tahiti in fourth and London in fifth place.
The entire South Island of New Zealand was awarded sixth place, Phuket seventh, followed by the Grand Canyon, eighth, Dubai, ninth and New York City in the 10th spot.
The publication’s readership is mainly North American based, hence citations for Yellowstone Park and Grand Canyon, but Phuket’s inclusion could hint that US travellers have a soft spot for Thailand’s southern island, despite the long journey to get there, when compared with the beaches of Mexico and Hawaii.
In addition to seventh placed Phuket, other Asian destinations figured in the top 30-list. Hong Kong was the second highest in 17th place, Bali managed a 23rd slot and Maldives took the 29th place.
“We’ve examined destinations for all types of travellers looking for an ideal getaway,” said US News travel editor, Erin Shields. “Whether it’s an aspirational, once-in-a-lifetime trip across the world, or a more relaxed, close-to-home vacation, the US News Best Vacations list has it covered.”
It checked more than 700 destinations using a methodology that combines travellers’ opinions with expert and editor analysis.
Each destination was scored in 10 categories, from sights, culture and food to nightlife, adventure and romance, offering a comprehensive evaluation of each destination.
