Thailand named 4th most beautiful country in the world

Thailand was ranked fourth in the list of the world’s most beautiful countries by the website usnews.com after New Zealand, Greece, and Italy, government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said on Monday.

He said the ranking, which falls under the “adventure” subcategory of the US News 2023 Best Countries rankings, was compiled from a global survey of countries viewed as most scenic.

Of the 87 countries included in the list, New Zealand emerged as No 1 in being most scenic, and eighth best country overall. In the second and third places for scenic beauty were Greece (27th overall) and Italy (15th overall).

Thailand, meanwhile, was given fourth place in the scenic category and 29th place overall.

“Thailand, which translates to ‘land of the free’, is the only Southeast Asian nation that did not encounter European colonisation. Located just above the equator, the nation is wedged into the Indochina peninsula with neighbours Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia and has an arm that extends out to Malaysia,” the USNews’ description of the kingdom read.

“Thailand is one of the world’s most visited countries, though tourism accounts for just 7% of gross domestic product. Buddha figures are ever-present in the ‘land of smiles’, where bustling, modern cities are juxtaposed with ancient ruins, glistening beaches and gilded temples,” it said.

Switzerland topped the chart of Best Countries rankings, followed by Canada, Sweden, Australia and the United States, respectively. The rankings cover matrices such as adventure, agility, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, open for business, quality of life, and social purpose.

Full rankings can be viewed at https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/scenic

“In recent years, Thailand has won high tourism-related rankings by several institutes, highlighting our leadership position as a global tourism destination,” Chai said.

He added that among the notable rankings are Bangkok being named the best city in Asia Pacific, Phuket and Samui named the region’s third and fourth best islands, and Suvarnabhumi Airport named second best airport in the region by DestinAsian, a leading regional travel and lifestyle magazine.

Meanwhile, CEOWORLD magazine put Thailand on top of the list of the World's Best Countries to Visit in Your Lifetime in 2024.

BeachAtlas website also named Phuket’s Maya Beach the world’s fifth-best beach.

“The government aims to continue promoting the tourism industry by attracting foreigners to visit the kingdom in 2025,” Chai added. “We have also prepared campaigns for the low season and to expand tourism routes to secondary provinces to ensure comprehensive distribution of tourism revenues to all communities.”