Taipei/Bangkok – Thailand’s popular beach resort islands of Samui and Phuket have been ranked amongst the Best Top 10 Islands in Asia 2014 by the popular Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) website YAM.com.tw.

The rankings were decided on the basis of more than 100,000 votes cast by readers of the popular website for islands in Asia within six hours flying time of the city of Taipei. Ko Samui was ranked #2, and Phuket #8.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mrs. Duangjai Kanteeranon, Assistant Director of the TAT Taipei Office, said, “This is very a positive development and a very encouraging sign for Thailand. It will certainly boost the popularity of our beach resorts and also motivate the islands’ travel and tourism sectors to focus on sustainability and product preservation.”

Ko Samui is located in the Gulf of Thailand roughly 700 km. south of Bangkok. Also known as the Coconut Island, it is one of the kingdom’s most famous and popular attractions, and the third largest island after Phuket and Ko Chang (of Trat province).

Phuket, located approximately 862 kilometres south of Bangkok in the Andaman Sea, is Thailand’s largest island with spectacular scenery and pristine waters for swimming and diving. Strong airline connections now provide direct access from many parts of Asia. Accommodation ranges from luxury resorts to tropical-style bungalows catering to all budgets.

In 2013, Taiwanese visitor arrivals to Thailand totalled 502,176, up by 27.38% over 2012. Between January-May 2014, Thailand attracted 145,829 Taiwanese visitors, a decline of 27.14% over the same period of 2013, caused largely by the political unrest in Thailand in the first quarter of 2014.

By the end of this year, TAT is projecting 436,245 Taiwanese visitors, generating an estimated USD 14.98 billion in tourism revenue.

Taiwan and Thailand are connected by 61 direct schedule flights, operated by Thai Airways International, China Airlines, EVA Airways and Transasia Airways, which became the first to launch daily direct flights between Taipei and Chiang Mai in June 2014.