Active and comprehensive promotion of Thailand by the Royal Thai Embassy, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thai Airways, and other members of Team Thailand in Russia was critical in maintaining Russian tourists’ interest in Thailand, as Google Russia recently revealed that Thailand received the most searches by Russian Internet users.
On 1 February 2011 at the Google Trend 2010 Awards Ceremony, Thailand was awarded top prize in the category of “Best Tourist Destination of the Year 2010” by Google Russia, with over 1 million searchers querying google.ru (Google Russia) for “Thailand”.
Team Thailand, consisting of the Thai Embassy, relevant Thai agencies, and Thai companies operating in Russia, worked hard throughout 2010 in promoting Thai tourism and creating confidence in Thailand. Despite the political situation in Thailand, Russian tourists were reassured that Thailand remained a safe tourist destination, and that any unrest was limited to only a few very specific spots. Ambassador Chalermpol Thanchitt, who delivered an address in Russian at the ceremony, revealed that 611,019 Russians visited Thailand in 2010.
The award given by Google confirms Thailand as one of the most popular destinations for Russian tourists, especially as it serves as a central location for further travel within the region. Statistics also revealed that, for Russian tourists, Thailand beat out other popular tourist destinations such as Egypt and Turkey.
Other notable awards include Russia’s best website of the year, awarded to the website of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, and Russian event of the year, awarded to the Great Fire in the Summer of 2010.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th